Puzzle 1: Sleep
by Kenjaje
Summary: The escape from Agubada is a bittersweet success to the group. However, they are granted time to relax Hämsterviel is now in his place. But, the diabolical rodent intends to have the last laugh a laugh that threatens Angel's health.
1. Caging the Rat

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces  
(Sequal to Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen/Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 1: Caging The Rat

Agubada

"Hurry, hit the blast-doors!" Hamsterveil shouted, throwing a fist and pointing his finger at Gantu.

"Blast-doors shutting—system lockdown engaged." He turned to the monitor which upon was displayed the many levels of the structure, and kept an up-to-date record on what areas were being destroyed by the massive tremors and corrosive waters. "The information sir, on the Augmentation project, should I rip it from the console?" Gantu asked, keeping his balance as another rattle shook through the spine of the pillar.

"Yes, there's a data-disc already in the console, put it on that—the files on that console are my only copy." Hamsterveil turned to another console and spoke into a microphone. "625, prepare the ship, I'm opening launch bay 58-733, I want the engines warmed up and ready in 5 minutes, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Even with your horrible way of speaking," crackled 625's voice over the bad reception, "under this shaking and trembling—" Another tremor hit, "I'd almost leave without you if I knew how to fly this thing!"

"Sir!" Gantu spoke, with an undertone of worriment in his otherwise stern voice.

"What is it?" Hamsterveil snapped, fed up with the rattling and noise of corroding metal.

"Are you sure you didn't already transfer the data beforehand? There's no data on the project whatsoever and there's also no data-disc in any of the drives." Gantu motioned toward several open panels. Hamsterveil's eyes seemed to flare even more brilliantly red than they already were.

"For your sake you'd better be lying, and even if you are I should _still _throw you on a cold asteroid!" He shouted as he jumped atop the console and pranced to and fro to type out everything on the keyboards. Three words flashed in green across the noisy screen.

Data Not Found

Gantu's hands clasped over his head to block out the severity of Hamsterveil's scream. The rodent kicked his foot against the glass monitor and screamed again with pain. A moment later, his eardrums throbbing, Gantu pointed at the screen and caught Hamsterveil's attention to it:

"Hamsterveil, Your project is no more. Whatever data you were keeping on this computer is now in the hands of your enemies. You have betrayed me, and so I've betrayed you. If you want your precious data back, you can come and take it from me. But it won't be much use for you after Jumba's scrutinized it. I hope you try, I'll be glad to see you again. 600."

"Gantu," The rodent spoke, with a dreadfully calm voice. "We're intercepting them. Before they get back to Earth, we're going to board their ship and take them over."

"How do we even know they made it off the Station?" Gantu inquired.

"Because they _always _find a way!" He shouted as he jumped on Gantu's shoulder. "Now run us to the ship before I send your fat, stupid head to the other side of the galaxy!"

"_624 calling Jumba…624 calling Jumba…hey are you there?_"

"…. …. Is Jumba speaking. 624?"

"A tachiba!" She sighed, keeping quiet.

"624? Why is it you are contacting me from ship and not through bedroom door?"

"Sh…_Lilo and Stitch are sleeping._" She reached over and turned the volume dial lower, just in case he didn't comply. "_Jumba, we're earthbound, ETA is about 95 minutes, but we have a problem._"

"…Problem?" She was able to make out from the noise.

"_Our hyperdrive is out of commission, but that's not our biggest concern. Just a few minutes ago an unidentified blip appeared. We've been in recent contact with Hamsterveil and I have reason to believe that the U-blip is him, copy?_"

"Is copy. Are wanting Jumba to assist? May take time to start up ship…"

"Nagetu. _It'll be easier, and I imagine better, if you contact the Grand Council. The U-blip is still E-30 minutes from our current position, but an asteroid belt his heading in from the eastern quadrant, which will reach us in E-12 minutes. If you'd like, just patch me through and I'll speak to whoever I can._" When the silence broke a rather different voice came through; it wasn't automated, but it seemed very much so. It was distant, almost bored.

"This is the Grand Council, receiving authorized forwarded message from Jumba Jookiba of the planet Earth, who has been forwarded and what business is being addressed?" Angel took a second to think of what to say. "Repea—"

"_This is Angel, Experiment 624 of Jumba Jookiba of Earth, forwarder of this authorized messaged. My business: a fugitive of the Grand Council has been spotted on my radar, I wish to report him._"

"What fugitive would that be, Angel?" Asked the bored voice.

"_Doctor Jacques van Hamsterveil, accompanied by ones Gantu and 625._" An abstract fumbling came from the other end.

"F-forwarded message approved and authorized to highest priority, n-now forwarding to Grand Council immediately, please wait one moment!" Angel had predicted the rise in the voice on the other end, and so had already turned the volume down a great deal. Four minutes passed before a new voice crackled on. It was the assertive, calm, and rather drolly unmistakable voice of the Grand Council Woman.

"This is the Grand Council. I understand that you are one of Jumba's creations, and you have information regarding the location of the fugitive Jacques van Hamsterveil?"

"_Yes._" Angel replied, her once before calm voice now broken; her inner worry, once suppressed, was now relieved.

"We are receiving your coordinates now; will you give us an estimate of the location of the fugitive's ship, Angel?" For some reason, the way this voice said Angel seemed much more friendly and personal.

"_Estimated 24 minutes behind our current location; however, in an estimated six minutes, there is an asteroid belt coming from the eastern quadrant, which will, without a doubt, come between our location and the fugitive's ship._"

"You're coordinates have been confirmed, our fleet was on their way as of thirty seconds ago. Your trip back to Earth should be a safe one. Are you alone on the ship?" Angel hesitated, but decided to let the Council Woman be aware.

"Nagetu, _both Lilo and Stitch are on the ship with me. We have escaped from the planet Agubada, whereon the fugitive's base of operations lies…or what's left of it. Do I need to fill out some type of documentation on this? I'm not very fond of those…_" Though she said this as a joke, the Grand Council Woman had no laughter.

"If you are uncomfortable reporting this information, send it through Jumba. It's required of him to send periodical reports anyway and there's never anything useful in them but experiments-captured lists." Angel's ears twitched. "However, the safety of your two passengers now takes my priority." Angel's ears twitched again.

_"Now I know why I wasn't made for the military…" _Angel thought, _"Who cares about us? We're fine. Take care of Hamsterveil before he takes care of us should be the priority if you're looking for safety."_

"We will be providing to you an escort to Earth; please keep in contact and send us information on your flight plan to sector—" Angel cut the transmission. She leaned back in the seat. She stared into the deep recesses of space, Earth in view. She grew drowsy, and as her eyes lost focus of the darkness, she recalled the moment of Stitch in the doorway. Lilo's voice, muffled, said in her ear,

_"Move!"_

Hamsterveil stared idly out the window of his cell. The blood had already rushed to his head from the extreme measures they took to hold him captive. The guard passed for what must have been the thousandth time, but he stopped counting after the third. His diabolical mind was more concerned about other things.

_"…Suddenly all the experiments are against me. First that traitorous 600 takes my precious creation from me and now 624 has turned me back into the hands of this scum of a Grand Council! What is it with the 600-series that I failed on? They were all programmed to follow my orders by default unless I should be absent of their presence. Were it not for that little girl and that also-traitorous 626, I would be in control!"_

"Light's out Hamsterwheel." One of the guards said in his coarse voice; immediately the lights overhead were muted.

"And I almost had that 626 under my control," he whispered, "But somehow the Augmentation Colonies failed and short-circuited. Also, the colony inside 599 seemed to die out as well. Perhaps there was not enough carbon in their structure. But the colonies in 625 and 624 still remain functional, despite their lack of engineering…" His ears flared, and his expression turned grim.

"624…that traitor. She was the first to go against me, even though _she _was the one who helped me make the first Kino. And yet she betrayed me as well…_in fact_, she's the very reason why I'm stuck inside this rotten, stinking, confined prison cell again!"

"Hey! Keep it down in there!" The guard from before tapped his gun against the glass, "Sheesh. You evil geniuses are all alike, always ranting. Go to sleep if you know what's good for you." With that, the guard left.

"I will not sleep until I find some way to get back at that experiment." He growled, muttering his override. His temper was so subtle from thinking that he didn't even hear the automated voice mispronounce his name. "There must be some way…to get rid of that 624…" He peeled through his mind, thinking for moment after moment, until finally an idea came to him.

"Of course! 624 has a fully-functioning colony within her! It's beating through her bloodstream as I speak; it's covering every cell in her body from neuron to erythrocyte. It's the perfect way…and 626, that little girl, and not even my arch-nemesis Jumba Jookiba, can do anything to stop it. 600, I know for a fact, did not make it off the planet, and thus far there has been no discussion between Jumba and the Grand Council woman about the project under even the tightest frequencies, which means she did not get to hand it over in time…it's the perfect way…"

Immediately his hands went to work on the keyboard, typing in various syntaxes and characters and prompts and codes. After a good three hours of this, which to him seemed more like three minutes, he processed the command to an uncharted frequency, which only the colony inside Angel could access.


	2. The BugSpotting Experiment

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces  
(Sequal to Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 2: The Bug-Spotting Experiment

"_You're awake again._"

"_I—_"

"_Don't, unless you want to pass out again. You can talk, if you promise to keep your cool. Do what you did again, and I don't know if I can give you enough air._"

"_I'm sorry._"

"_Don't apologize to me;_ _I'd just like to get you to safety if I can._"

"_Why…Zeus_?" Phase shifted. There was a pause for quite a while, and Phase almost drifted to sleep again.

"_Simple._" Another long pause; Phase kept her mind alert; just enough to listen, but nothing else was said. She wondered if she missed the answer somehow, but she was sure she didn't.

"_Tell me again, why_?"

"_Like I said…it's simple. I just…did. Why question it_?" The voice was curt, as if the question annoyed her.

"_So you just go around…saving people's lives…_"

"_No. I'm not into that stuff._"

"_I know…you're not. You're not…telling me._"

"_There's nothing to tell, I just _did" Phase smiled. It was getting angry. She didn't push it any more—this thing was her life-line; the only thing standing between her and a vacuum that would treat her to an ugly explosion.

She opened her eyes, and suddenly space was colorful. Swirls of blue and purple, silver and red, orange and green; streaks of white and smudges of blackness: space was a canvas of geometry, lit with color. A light, closer to her, reflected off a planet. A dark planet, green in hue where its weak sun shed light upon it, could be marked from the thick velvet black of the vacuum.

Specs of bright blue and purple shimmered across the planets surface. They were so close to it that she could almost make out forests and marshes. They still had a bit to go, but from the looks of it they were approaching it a phenomenal speed.

"_Home._" The voice said. Phase smiled, let out a sigh, closed her eyes, and fell back to sleep.

Lilo's head spun; her eyes saw blurs for a moment. Three Kinoes were after her; she ran for cover, but in the sleek halls of Agubada, there was no refuge. Time slowed, she spun around for a second, to catch a better glimpse of her pursuers; four Kinoes. Her turn finished, her feet resumed their pace; time returned to normal.

The hallway turned; she had no choice. Ahead, two more Kinoes were heading for her. The air was chilled and stung in her throat for a moment, and then she didn't feel a thing. She turned right, and stumbled to another hall. She regained her footing, and kept running. Six were on her now.

Dead; the hall was dead. Trapped; Lilo was trapped. She felt a surge of panic in her core, akin to the fright of a suspenseful movie. She wished she could turn the television off, before the part where the most frightening event occurred. But there was no need…the Kinoes stopped. The leader stepped forward once more and all of them began to lean forward, and shut down. Electricity shot out of one in the middle, on the right hand side.

"Stitch," she whispered, failing to speak normally in her anxiety. A smile beamed across her heaves, and she slumped against the wall behind her.

"Lilo…" Something was wrong, his voice was off. The fear came back.

"Get away," She said with a fluttering breath; Stitch's right hand flicked to his side as he stepped forward at a slow but even pace; at the snap of his wrist, his claws sprang forth. He ran, his arm drawn back. "Get away!"

Lilo's body lurched; her hair flew past her head as she sat up, sweat sprinkling across the sides of her face. Her breath was haggard, and for a moment she sat stunned. It took her a few moments to see the light from the window, and hear the muffled sounds of the birds chirping outside through the wall. Yet still, her mind was blank. A part of her begged to know what just happened; the other, told her not to press it. Giving in to the stubbornness of her mind, she slid out of bed.

She felt uncomfortable and cramped. She realized she was still wearing normal clothes—a purple shirt and turquoise shorts. Her arm had wrinkles on it—a phenomenon that scared her when she was younger. She shook her head, and noticed a small headache near the back of her neck. She went into the closet to change into something else—red muumuu.

Next stop: bathroom. Toothpaste cleared the nasty taste in her mouth, a few brush-strokes made her hair more tolerable, and water took the matte feeling of sweat off of her face, but the back of her ears and her temples couldn't be bothered.

The back of her throat told her to drink; the pit of her stomach told her to eat. She went into the hall, looked both ways; to the stairs, looked both ways; in the living room, looked both ways. She went into the kitchen, got a glass and filled it with milk and then some bread and cheese. She sat at the table, and waited for a couple of seconds. Finally, she raised her hands and slammed them down.

"Where is everyone?" In response, a moment later, the soft shuffle of furry feet came down the stairs.

"Lilo awake!" Stitch exclaimed, jumping on the chair in front of her. He smiled.

"What happened? …I don't remember falling asleep" She began to eat her breakfast.

"Stitch, Angel, Lilo get back late. Stitch do good, let Lilo sleep." He slumped back in his chair. Lilo noticed something white on his chest.

"Hm?" She leaned over the side of the table, and her eyes pulsed with surprise. "Stitch! What is that?" She dropped her breakfast on the table and ran to his side. A white bandage wrapped around his waist, and on his right side was a large piece of gauze with a dark pink tint.

"_Just a scratch,_" a voice said from the entrance to the living room. Lilo didn't need to glance to see Angel.

"A scratch, huh," She said, pressing on the bandage. Stitch cringed and let out a small sigh of pain. A forlorn look shadowed Lilo's face for a moment. Angel broke it, when she took her seat and spoke.

"_It's mid-afternoon. You slept late; must've been exhausted._" Lilo felt exhausted still. The pain in her head moved to the front. She took her seat and started eating again.

"…What happened to—?"

"Naga," Stitch interrupted.

"_Not yet. Just relax for now, we'll explain later._"

"So then…what do we do?"

"_Whatever you want, Lilo._"

"Eh." Lilo finished the last bite of her breakfast.

"I can't think right now…I can't even remember what day it is."

"_It's all right, you just rest._" Angel said sweetly, smiling.

"What about you guys?"

"Oketaka, ichibakeeta mikutakuta."

"_…We're just a little tired. And…crazy apprantly._" Angel looked at Stitch, then back at Lilo. "_Maybe we should just do something lazy today…watch TV, play a board game…give Stitch a bath._"

"Naga!" Stitch's body was already halfway up the stairs, a cloud of dust in his wake. He stared at them from on top of the stairs. Angel's head tilted so she could see him.

"_Relax_," She said, "_Only kidding._"

"Naga chutaka." He said, learning against the railing and folding his arms.

"He's not gonna come back down."

"_Nope._" Angel pushed away from the table, her chair screeching and groaning on the kitchen floor. "_So we'll have to go up._" Lilo looked at the wood, and saw a few black dots, scurrying around across the streaked pattern.

"_Hold it!_" Lilo said. Angel's ears twitched.

"_What?_" She said, half-turned back at Lilo.

"Stay right there," the girl ordered, hopping out of her chair. She went behind Angel, and with her thumb and index, spread a tuft of fur on the back of her neck. "I have quite a keen eye for bugs, if you didn't know." She said, peering through Angel's pink hide. "You might call it _my _power, like your singing and Stitch's strength." She went to another spot. "And I'm afraid that _you're _the one who needs a bath, Angel."

"_Me?_" She asked nervously. "_W…why me?_" Angel turned again.

"Simple," The little girl said with a grin. "You've got _fleas!_"

"Can I…" The woman behind the counter started to say, as she spotted Lilo standing below her initial line of sight. "…Can I _not _help you…Please?"

"Nope!" Lilo said, with a close-eyed grin. The vet sighed and leaned on her left arm.

"What do you want this time?—No let me guess!—You've come to unleash _another _plague of fire at me?"

"I'm sorry about Yin…he doesn't normally do that. I guess he doesn't like hair-cuts…but he really needed it." She smiled and tilted her head. "But I have an easier job this time!"

"Taka!" Stitch jumped through the door, a purple rope clutched in his left hand.

"No; Not him again! I'd rather give a hair-cut to the exploding ferret!"

"Nope, not Stitch either. Don't worry, he'll behave. Your _real_ job is…" Stitch tugged on the rope twice, and Angel padded in. A purple collar with a few fake jewels was around her neck, along with a matching bracelet on her ankle. Her arms were in Turo Federation Standard Issue handcuffs. Stitch tugged the leash again, and she slowly walked forward; her shoulders slouched, her feet barely lifted off the ground. Her eyes were sagged and her ears were down, over her shoulders. Dirt ruffled her fur.

"_You're going to get it,_" She whispered at Stitch as she passed, giving him a vicious stare, "_Later on tonight, you're going to _get _it_!" Stitch grinned. He knew Angel's state was a complete act; he performed similarly—and knew it wouldn't work. No matter how beat up, rugged up, mucked up or caffeine-up he was, there was _no _escape from the V-E-T.

"Finally, a normal looking one; what's wrong with the poor thing?" The woman stepped in front of the counter, and took the leash from Stitch.

"She has fleas. She's just acting." Angel gave Lilo a glare. The vet put on a pair of glasses and set Angel down on a table. She parted the fur on Angel's neck and peered for the tiny bug.

"Yup, I see one…" She said, "But, something's a little weird here."

"What is it?" Lilo asked.

"_Your breath stinks, that's what._" Lilo shushed Angel under her breath.

"Well," the vet replied, "There aren't too many. Fleas jump all over the place…but I only see one or two every couple of seconds. And another thing…" She turned her attention to some tools, and grabbed a pair of tweezers. She went back to Angel's back and moved the tweezers closer. Angel shivered and the tweezers withdrew. The vet got a slide from next to a microscope and slid the bug into it.

She put the slide underneath the scope and leaned on the lens, and started turning knobs. Lilo was already standing close by, trying to see by standing on her tip-toes. Stitch was on the wall, peering at the microscope.

"Is it a mutated monster-flea?" Lilo asked with interest.

"I…don't know. Look for your—" The woman let out a small yell as she saw Stitch clung to the wall. Stitch yelled in return and lost his grip, falling onto the counter.

"Careful Stitch, don't hurt your boo-boo." Lilo said, as she made her way to the microscope. The vet got a chair for Lilo to stand on, and while Lilo peered at the curious bug, Stitch rubbed his bandage.

"No wonder you're not causing any trouble," The vet said, looking at Stitch's bandage. "What happened to him?"

"Fight with robots." Lilo said casually, adjusting the knobs of the scope.

"Oh, so…the usual?"

"Y—up." The specimen blurred, then focused, and then blurred again. Lilo turned the knob back, and brought it into focus once more. It was clear at first sight this wasn't a normal flea to Lilo's trained eye—it was clearer that this was a bug she had never seen before. It was strange: only four legs, very long ones, somewhat cricket-like. Its exoskeleton was rather reflective in the light. It had a pair of antenna and what looked like almost a hair-like tail in the rear, and its body was like that of a roach. "What is it?" Lilo asked.

"A freak." The woman replied. She picked up a bottle of shampoo off of the opposite wall, and handed it to Lilo. "Maybe that'll get rid of it. If not, I'll give her a shot and she'll be all good."

"_…What's a shot_?" Angel asked Stitch.

"By the way, what's her name?"

"_A shot? Oh it's horrible! She gets a _long _syringe, with a needle as thick as your arm…_"

"Angel."

"ae taka shukaba nudu kalamiki…" He said, pointing to his rear. Angel's eyes dilated with terror.

"That's a pretty name. Well, let's just get a little record started for her,"

"_And then she takes a saw and—_"

"Stitch!" Lilo shouted.

"He needs a shot," the vet said, "He's due for a worm shot. You want me to give him one?" Angel flinched. She wanted to scream _'naga!' _but had to refrain.

"Sure, if he needs it." Angel looked at Stitch with large, teary eyes.

"_I'm sorry _boochie-boo; _I didn't mean what I said earlier…I'll make it up to you…I'll sing you to sleep tonight if you want me to, _oketaka?" Stitch gulped.

"O…oketaka…"

"All right, here we go…" The vet said, as she plunged the needle in Stitch's shoulder, before he had a chance to know what was going on. Stitch whimpred and shivered for a while, and Angel looked at him, her worriment and sorrow slipping away as she waited, and nothing happened.

"_…_Boochie-boo," she said.

"All right, we're all done here."

"Thanks a bunch, put the cost on Nani's tab."

"Will do," The vet said, as Lilo, Stitch and Angel went out the door. "Weird…_weird_ pets; even the _fleas _are weird on them." Outside, the three made there way back home as evening was just beginning.

"Boochie-boo," Angel said sweetly.

"Eh, Angel?" He replied.

"_You're a wimp._"


	3. The Colors of Night

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 3: The Colors of Night

Phase woke, but kept her eyes closed. She felt her body drifting, and a soothing sound of rushing wind came into her ear. "_Where are we now_?" She asked softly, but there was no reply. "_Hey, are you list—_" She took a breath in, and noticed the air tasted different. She opened her eyes; darkness. She could smell the sweet yet muggy aroma of decay, but couldn't see anything. She felt around, her hand brushing through moist, soft grass. She started to sit up, but hit her head. She grumbled, rubbing her scalp. It was wet—she thought blood at first, but there was no wound, and she didn't feel the sting of broken flesh.

She felt above; cool water started to run down her finger, and stream down her arm. The surface felt a little spongy. She panicked; her imagination ran wild, picturing herself inside of some giant monster's maw. She scrambled, hitting her head again, but she didn't care. She looked around frantically, her head hitting the ceiling a third time. Finally she ducked low, and began to search, until she saw, against the blackness, a very dark blue patch.

She crawled toward it, and just as she was in a few feet of it, she realized how silly she was, as she saw the blades of grass in a dim purple light. The grass seemed to glow, the tips sometimes shimmering as a warm, moist wind blew. She crawled through the threshold of her sleeping place; the air outside was much more humid. She stood upright; her back ached as she did. She rubbed her spine and the back of her neck, and looked around.

She was in some kind of quarry, from what she could tell; walls, made of something akin to dirt, rose nearly forty feet at the tallest. The recessed area in the planet was fairly large, enough room to fit a few ships from wing-tip to wing-tip. She looked to her left, and found the source of the purple glow; a somewhat thick fall of a mucky, luminous liquid flowed nearby. It fell over the edge above into a bubbling pool that hissed and murmured, and then snaked its way across the quarry, bent around the Phase, and pooled again against the wall to her right. It seemed to flow into a cavern, or downward into a channel.

In the dirt walls, large glowing crystals shimmered and twinkled. Some red, some green, and a few blue. Lastly, she looked at where she came from; a rock. Her ears dropped. It had a rather smooth looking entrance; the edge of the threshold was rounded, not sharp; this was almost a naturally weathered hole. Half of the rock was still inside the wall of the quarry. A few more rocks, scattered throughout, could be seen (but if these were shelters, she couldn't tell).

Without any sun, the quarry was lit up enough for her to see, in many hues. She could make out something akin to a tree in the distance, which was blue and purple, with willow-like leaves. Her eyes squinted, and there, sitting next to the tree, was a figure.

"_Hey! Hey!_" She called, as she ran. She jumped over the rivulet (which was not that wide) and made her way a few dozen more paces to the tree. Its bark (or what was akin to it) was dark red with specks of yellow here and there. The figure sat against the tree; it was female, looked much like an experiment. It had height, if it stood, and it had a reticent stare. As Phase neared, she saw that it seemed to glow just a little, green and purple, and it was almost clear where it wasn't illuminated—as if she was seeing some ethereal ghost or an aura.

"_Zeus?_" Phase asked, rhetorically.

"_Phase; it's nice to see you're awake._"

"_It's nice to see…_you" Phase sat next to Zeus, against the thick trunk of the tree. "_So…where are we_?" She said, after a moment.

"_Home…_" Zeus replied, "_That's all I can tell you. I don't know where we are…I just know that it's wet, breathable and—_" she looked up; the sky was black and lit with stars, with a few thin bands of purple, blue and green glowing clouds, "_There's not much sunlight._" Phase let out a sigh. "_I thought to wake you when we got here, but I decided to let you sleep. I hope waking up in such a cramped place didn't scare you, but I didn't want you to be exposed to anything dangerous._"

"_Nah!_" She said, thinking to herself about her imagination. "_It's no big deal—you can tell me the rest later._" A slow wind blew muggy air. "_This place is very colorful_." Phase commented, looking at her arms. Any green was dull, or overtaken by the hue of another color. "_There's no light…it's just black, with lots of color._"

"_Get used to it…_" Zeus said, "_We're probably going to be here for a long time…_"

"_That's…ok with me._" She said, rather quickly, but softly. Zeus turned her head to look at Phase; she was staring straight ahead.

"_Really_? _I wasn't expecting that answer…wasn't expecting one at all._"

"_You saved my life…you saved me from that storm on Agubada; there's no way I can thank you for that. You took me to place where I can breathe. I'm in no position to complain._"

"_I see._" Phase looked back at Zeus.

"_I don't even know you. I've never seen you before…yet you came and got me like I'm one of your friends._"

"_You find that strange_?" Phase tilted her head.

"_Of course I do_! _No one does that…and _you _don't look like you're one to do something like that unless you had a good reason._" Zeus looked straight ahead.

"_How would you know that_? _You don't know me at all. Maybe I just don't want to see someone get hurt._"

"_Please, save it. I can see your attitude,_" Phase chuckled, "_The curt way you talk, the way you speak while staring straight ahead, you're—_"

"_They made it out, by the way._" Zeus interrupted.

"_They…_?"

"_The ones you were with; the pink one, and the other one. They made it to the ship, and off the planet._" Phase looked up.

"_Good._" She said, "_Thanks for letting me know. It makes me feel better._"

"_Me too,_" Zeus said distantly.

"_So then…what are our plans_?"

"_Hm…_" Zues stood. Phase did so as well, with a stretch. "_We need a shelter, and something to make a fire…for you. That rock is best for the shelter, and I can…modify it._"

"_How so_?" Phase followed Zeus back to the rock she had crawled out of. Without a word from Zeus, her body changed into a puddle of purple-green glowing water, and went inside the rock. Phase looked in, and witnessed Zeus (as a puddle) "crawling" over the ceiling of the rock; as the puddle passed, sediment fell to the floor. Slowly, the area inside the rock hollowed to a dome, large enough for both of them to fit, with a lot of extra room.

"_I'll go into the wall later on, but that'll do for now._" Phase, in her exhaustion, couldn't find enough energy to be completely at awe. But the wonderment still burned on the inside.

"_You're made of water._" She said bluntly.

"_Of course,_" She replied, just as bluntly. Both of them smiled, and started to laugh a little bit. The two of them set to work, carving a ramp to get out of the quarry.

"I _win!_" Lilo shouted, as she burst through the door. She threw her fists into the air and tilted her head up as she exclaimed. Behind her, Angel bumped into her, and finally Stitch bumped Angel, who bumped Lilo, and knocked Lilo over. "Hey, that wasn't very nice," Lilo grumbled.

"Soka," Angel said, helping Lilo up.

"Hey, Lilo!" Nani said, coming into the living room from the kitchen.

"You two go on up, I'll talk with Nani-zilla here." Lilo said. Stitch and Angel nodded, and made their way upstairs.

"Are you lo-lo, Lilo?" Nani asked, taking her younger sister by the hand.

"Yesterday I was fine," Lilo replied.

"Very funny," Nani took her into the laundry room. "I'm tired of finding things in your clothes—you need to learn to empty your pockets before I do the laundry." Nani handed Lilo a small CD. "I heard it in the wash, so I _hope _it's not broken; otherwise it's a waste of money."

"Doesn't look broken," Lilo said, examining the surface. "Seems fine to me."

"Well," Nani said, folding her arms, "Go play it and make sure it works. If not…give it Jumba or something." She said, shrugging and walking into the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"…Dinner? You're _cooking_?" Lilo said, following her sister.

"Yeah, surprised?" Nani turned and smiled, looking down at her younger sister.

"More like…shocked," The little girl replied, looking up. "I'll go warn everyone, and covertly call for a pizza."

"Nice try little brat, but I'm keeping an eye on the phone."

"Why, is _David _gonna call?" Lilo teased.

"Well, maybe," Nani said with a smile. "Now go on, make sure it works (and get outta my sight)."

"All right," Lilo said, sarcastically annoyed. She made her way up the stairs, and passed Pleakley "singing" in the shower. When she arrived at the elevator, she shouted up, "I'm coming up in three…two…one…" She stepped in, and the elevator lifted her into the room. "I'm—here?" The room was empty.

She shrugged, and went over to the CD player next to her bed. "I know you guys are hiding from your bath." She said, as she opened it up. "It'll be a while, I'll give it to you after dinner—so you probably don't want to skip." She took out the old CD and put the new one in, and closed it while she put the earphones on. "Otherwise you won't eat 'till breakfast." She hit play. Nothing happened. "Doesn't play music," She said, flipping the cover up and pulling it out. "Maybe it's a computer CD."

She went to her room desktop and sat in the chair as she opened the drive and popped to disc in. The computer beeped, and then started clicking as the drive whirred to life. The screen came up, and Lilo's eyes squinted from the bright light. As it dimmed to the usual blue background, the disc loaded, and a program popped up.

AC PROJECT

J. HAMSTERVEIL

Lilo jolted with surprise, knocking off a few things from the computer desk. She ripped the CD from the drive as soon as it opened, and ran for the elevator. "Jumba's gotta see this!"

"_It's nice out, tonight._" Angel said, as she sighed. She held Stitch's arms around her torso as she leaned against him. They sat on the roof of the bedroom, against the velvet sky.

"Not nice as Angel." He replied. Her cheeks reddened. He started stroking her shoulder. She shivered a bit. "Angel cold?" He asked, holding her more tightly.

"_Just a little,_" She said, squeezing her shoulders in. She lifted her chin as he nestled his head on her shoulder. He breathed on her neck, which gave her chills after each one, begging for the next to warm her. "_Y'know…you're gonna get the fleas too, getting all close to me like this._"

"Stitch naga care," he said gently, squeezing her a bit.

"_It'll mean a bath for you._"

"naga-to ichigwa."

"Hmm…_you'd take a bath just to sit with me…_" She smiled, and sank further into his embrace. They sat in silence; he began to rub her stomach. "_It's been so long since we've had time alone…_" She said softly. "_I wish it happened more often._"

"Eh," He replied, nuzzling her cheek. Her cheeks reddened more, and he could feel the fur on her body stand on end. Her ear twitched, and tickled his temple.

She shivered again; in response, his other pair of arms slowly snuck out of his sides. He coiled them around and held her tightly once more. She held on to the lower hands, as his upper-right rubbed her shoulder. The wind blew, and clouds—almost close enough to touch, it appeared—passed by overhead. They sat, looking at the stars. He spotted constellations that his friend showed him, and pointed them out to her. The moon disappeared and reappeared behind the veils of clouds many times, but the two were almost lost in each others' arms.

Finally, they ran out of words to say, and let the wind express its thoughts. She closed her eyes and began to drift, recalling events from in the past. The happy ones, with all of them playing, and laughing; where everyone was at peace, without any dangers to worry about. The day finally came, where more of that would happen; their enemies were locked away, and no other cousins had shown up yet. As far as she was concerned, life could pause…so she could enjoy time with her _boochie-boo_.

She also recalled the events of that day; the morning…the afternoon…the vet—

"Gaba?" Stitch exclaimed, as Angel tore loose from his embrace and turned around, slamming his shoulders against the roof. "Gaba miga chusta?" He stared up at her, his face in shock.

"_Oh, don't play dumb with me._" She grinned. "_Remember the vet_? _Remember what I said_? _I _told _you'd get it…and it's night time: time to pay the due._" She grabbed the scruff of his neck, and pulled him up. His head jerked forward and back. He tried to escape form her sudden hostility, but her grip was too tight. She pulled him close, nose-to-nose and stared him down in the eyes. His were glistening with anxiety; she could feel his heart thundering in his chest.

"Naga sochiba ju kashta, boochie-boo?" He asked nervously.

"_Oh…I would. Don't underestimate me, boochie-boo._" She smiled. "_Here it comes…_" He closed his eyes, and turned his face; he saw it on TV: the slap. He felt the fingers against his face—a gentle touch; he felt the motion of his head going the other way—a soft adjustment. Her fingers pulled his chin forward, and something touched his lips. His heart thundered again, with a strange feeling—not anxiety, but some form of excitement. His hands came up, and laid themselves upon her shoulders; hers did the same. He felt her lean forward just a bit, without taking a step. His foot slid back enough to keep her propped. The act felt eternal; the feeling was hypnotizing. Finally, he had to sever their lips, and open his eyes.

"Angel…" He said softly, lovingly. He pushed her back onto her feet. Her eyes were still closed, and her lips were ajar and in a smile. _"More in a trance than I was," _he thought. He let go of her shoulders, and she let go of his.

Her body collapsed. Angel was unconscious.


	4. High Strung

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 4: High Strung

"Hey Jumba—"

"Ye—" Jumba let out a shout from behind the door, amidst a moment of clatter and banging. After a pause, the door clicked, and his head peeked through the doorway. "Yes, little girl?" He said with a smile.

"Sorry," she said, "But…I have something I think you might be interested in." she held her finger up, with the disc on it. Jumba opened his door, and motioned for Lilo to come in.

"What is being?" Jumba asked, as Lilo made her way to the computer.

"You'll see…I didn't do anything with it, 'cuz I didn't wanna ruin it." She opened the clam-shell computer and popped the disc in. She let Jumba have the chair, and stood on her tip-toes to see. Jumba fiddled with the program for a moment.

"Is…curious," He said, looking at Lilo. "How did you find?"

"Nani said she found it in my clothes," she explained, "What's on it?"

"See for self," Jumba said, sliding the computer for her to see. She looked at the screen, the same words as before showed. She hit the down arrow, and a paragraph came up. She pressed it again, more text—for the next few pages—then finally, she took in a breath of surprise.

"Jumba look!" She said, shoving the computer in his hands. Jumba examined the screen; displayed was a blueprint of what looked like a robot. Jumba held the computer up to his eyes, reading aloud.

"'Augmentation Cyborg; nanobot designed to heighten the attributes of anything they inhabit.'"

"That sounds fascinating," Pleakley's voice said over Jumba's shoulder. Jumba let out a startled yelp.

"Don't be doing that when Jumba is concentrating," He said, thumping Pleakley on the side of the head.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya. So what's that ya got there; some kind of new evil-genius project?" Pleakley began to snake his head so that he could see the screen. Jumba closed the computer.

"No, is something little girl found is all."

"But that's not all Jumba—"

"Why can't I see it?" Pleakley whined, grabbing for the computer.

"Because you…might…" Both of them pulled on half of the computer, and finally ended up flying in opposite directions. The computer flew into the air, and crashed in a pile of junk with sparks spitting out of it as it landed. "Wonderful," Jumba said, striding to the computer and picking it up in his hand. He opened it, and pressed the power button, but nothing happened. "Pleakey has broken computer."

"It's not my fault," He said, folding his arms. "_You _were being selfish."

"_Pleakley _would not understand what was on computer _anyway_!" Jumba snapped back.

"Well, I would know if it was another evil-genius diabolical plot to destroy the world, and based on your attitude it sounds like it may have been. You know I have to report that kind of activity to the Grand—"

"_Everybody be quiet!_" Lilo yelled. Jumba and Pleakley's shoulders jumped, and they looked at her. She huffed. "Like I was trying to tell you Jumba, that picture you were looking at—I saw it before."

"You saw picture before?" He asked, rubbing his chin.

"Even better—I saw the real deal!"

"Where has little girl seen tiny nanobot?" Jumba inquired, pinching his fingers together to emphasize the word _tiny_. Just as she was about to answer, Stitch burst through the door—literally—carrying an unconscious Angel in his arms. They all stood in silence for a moment, as Stitch took a step forward to Jumba. Nani appeared in the hole in the door, looked around for a moment, and with a smile casually alerted:

"Dinner's ready, everyone."

Silence; Lilo ate in silence. Lasagna, mauled and mangled, sprawled across the girl's plate. She plunged her fork into a pea, and scraped it across the mess. Every now and again, she took a bite, or drank some of her milk. Stitch sat in the chair opposite her, his plate untouched. He simply stared at his square meal; his ears were down at his shoulders, and his eyes were half closed. His arms were limp, resting on his thighs, and his head was leaning forward just a bit.

"…Can…" Lilo said softly, a little unwillingly. Then, she began again, a little clearer this time. "Can I ask…what happened?" She looked up at her friend; his expression was the same. She leaned her head over her plate and took another bite, her eyes on his face the whole time. "How…did she…?" Lilo faltered, not sure how to ask without sounding ridiculous. Even still, he gave no sign he heard her. She blinked as she looked at him. He seemed to slump forward just a little more.

She tried to get his attention by clanking her silverware a little—then a bit more—and then to point of sheer annoyance. She scraped her fork across the plate; the noise made even _her _cringe. But still, he didn't budge. She walked her index and middle finger to his plate, and quickly touched it and drew back. She smiled, and touched the plate again, this time moving it a bit before she drew her hand back to her side again; still no response.

She wrinkled her forehead, running out of patience and ideas. She dramatically grabbed the plate with both hands and started waving it in front of him. She circled his head, went back and forth and side-to-side. After a few moments, she froze, her expression dropping, and she set the plate down.

"C'mon Stitch, snap out of it," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Gaba?" He asked, his ears moving up a bit.

"Whoa," Lilo said as a quick whisper, "I wasn't actually expecting you to do anything."

"Oh…soka." He said, his ears sinking again.

"Hey no wait!" She said, sliding off of her seat. "Don't go all mopey again," She walked to his side and took his hand. His head followed her, and he looked gloomily at her. "C'mere, you look like you need a hug," She tugged his arm. Almost half-heartedly he leaned over and let his arms loosely hang around her shoulders. She looped under his arms and squeezed him gently. "C'mon, you call this a hug?" He started to growl a little. "Hey, hey," She let go, backing off.

"No need to get grumpy," She said, pulling the sleeve of her dress back into place. Stitch looked down again. "And no need to get sad either…" She put her hand on his. "I'm sorry, I was only trying to help." Stitch growled again.

"Soka…" He said, with all seriousness. She looked at him; he stared back at her, and blinked once. His face was odd, completely alien to her.

"…You want to go check up on Jumba; see if he's gotten anywhere?" Without a word, he slid out of the chair, and went out the door. "…Ok then, I'll just…" Lilo took Stitch's plate and put it in the refrigerator. She shut the door, with a bit of a slam, and froze; her hand was still on the door handle. She stared at the door for a few more moments, then heaved a sigh, and walked out the door.

Cicadas chirped madly outside. The air was nice and cool, with that ever-present hint of salt. She walked barefoot across the cold cement, and stepped onto the grass. The warm blades tickled her toes at first as she walked, but gradually the feeling died. The grass was a little damp, and smelled sweet; she could feel a blade stick to her foot every now and again, and scraped it off.

She could see the ship a little ways ahead; its shell was almost purple in the dark, with bright blue streaks where the moon's light concentrated on the curves. She stopped; she almost didn't want to go—just wanted to go back inside. She was sleepy, anyway. She looked back at the house; she was closer to the ship. With a sigh, she continued, and the first step she took she poked her foot on a sharp rock.

"Little girl," Jumba said, as Lilo entered the ship. "How was supper being?"

"Good, I guess…" She looked around; the ship was brightly lit, instruments flaring and blinking, the usual when Jumba was working. "How is…?"

"Still…don't know. Am monitoring…but nothing as of yet. Also working on to fix computer…will keep eye on 624. No worries…will be fine under Jumba's care." Lilo smiled.

"Did Stitch come by?" She asked, stepping farther in.

"Through door, then to left, in sick-bay."

"Gotchya." Lilo went through the door Jumba pointed toward. The hum of instruments softened in the cramped hallway; she turned to her left, and went through another door, into the sick-bay.

Without a word, she approached him. Angel was lying on her back on a table; pads hooked onto almost every square inch of her body, connecting her to the machines. She looked at the monitors on the wall, understanding nothing of their purpose. It was scary to her; Angel had a tube in her nose, a large close-pin on her finger, and even an IV.

"Poor Angel…" She said softly, standing next to Stitch.

"Angel…awake, then…not." Stitch said.

"Hm?" Lilo turned her head. Stitch spoke while still facing Angel.

"What happened: Angel awake, then asleep. But…too quick sleep…and not wake up." Stitch shook his head slowly.

"You know…I'll bet she's just still exhausted. I mean…you didn't see but she lifted a boulder that was like a thousand pounds," Lilo's voice, although excited in tone, did not rise very high in pitch. "She just…needs a lot of sleep." Stitch continued to gaze. Angel took in a deep breath, and for a moment Lilo thought she was waking up, as she glimpsed Angel's eye twitch. But nothing happened, and the surge of relief that once flowed through her now doubled her anxiety. "Come on Stitch, let's go back in…and go to bed. I'll let you go without a bath tonight."

"Stitch stay…little longer?" He asked.

"Well…it's getting late. I have to go to bed…you do to. So…come up pretty soon, promise?"

"Eh…promise." Lilo paused for a minute and looked at Angel once more. Finally she tore her eyes from it and took a couple hurried steps to the door. She paused at the threshold, and turned back. "G'night, Stitch." She said to him with a smile. He continued to look at Angel.

Lilo didn't hear the cicadas as she went back in; nor did she hear Nani tell her "bedtime". She went upstairs to her room and right to her closet. She got into her pajamas, and threw her muumuu into the laundry basket. She went to the computer, turned it off; closed the skylight, looked around. Nothing seemed out of place, the room was fairly clean.

She sighed, and turned to her bed, and then rolled her head back. She forgot Nani did the laundry—her sheets included. With a grumble she threw the sheets on the floor and started making her bed.

"Why can't Nani do this? I don't have time, I wanna sleep!" She tugged at the fitted sheet, and fell backward as it slipped out of its tuck. It fell over her, and after a moment's pause she growled as she struggled to get it off her. "All right you, make with the making!" She tried again, this time with success. Weary, she threw the sheets and comforter on top of the roughly tucked sheet, and then got to work on the pillows.

She found out one pillow was torn, with stuffing leaking out. She looked at the floor to see a drifting pile of it. She set the pillow on Stitch's bed. She picked up the stuffing and hastily shoved it in his pillow, and then took his pillow and used it.

"Finally I can sleep…" She said, closing her eyes.

The closest that came to day, on the strange planet Phase was on, was the sun of the planet peeking over the edge of the quarry wall. The sky didn't change color, like it did on Earth. There was no change at all; just a feint golden glimmer in the grass. She lied on her back, looking up at the perpetual night; the grass was as comfortable as a bed of rolling clouds: soft and springy, but supportive.

She was tired, and already ate. But she didn't know whether to sleep or stay awake. Zeus was checking the perimeter, looking for hostilities. Phase closed her eye sonly for a moment . . . Footsteps woke her; she hastily stood, teetering just a little, and greeted Zeus as she approached.

"_Nothing dangerous,_" Zeus reported.

"_That's good to hear._" They headed for their shelter, which they had modified a little. Phase built a small canopy of the willow-like leaves and some dead wood they fished from the glowing water. The curious light was soft, but still visible on the wood. "_So let's think, Zeus…how do we get back home_?"

"_Hm…I suppose…if I built up enough strength, I could transport you the same way I did to get you here; but that would take years of travel, including the time it would take me to build up strength._"

"_Ok, so that's out of the question; …what about…can we build our own ship_?"

"_We need metal, wood, fuel…and I don't suppose you know how to build a hyper-drive engine_?"

"_…Scratch that one…_" Phase sighed and sat against the rock. "_It's impossible for me to just…zap us that far. I don't even know where Earth _is."

"_It's all right, Phase, we'll find a way._" Zeus put a cold, wet hand on Phase's shoulder. Zeus stared blankly at Phase, and then looked confused.

"_What's wrong_?" Phase asked, addressing her expression.

"_Nothing, just thinking,_" she let her hand up. Phase looked at her feet, and smacked them together a few times. Just then, her toe lit up blue. She flinched with surprise. "_Are you ok_?" Phase pointed at her foot. A bright red spec fell onto her ankle, splattered, and then left a glowing stain on her coat. On that strange, dark planet with perpetual night, a neon rain began to brew.


	5. Ever the Dreamer

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 5: Ever the Dreamer

Lilo had a better dream that night, a simple one of her in the hospital. The sight of Angel in the sick-bay uncovered the memories of lying in the bed, and seeing Stitch after he rescued her from the fire. She relived snippets of that life, and just as she drew a blank in her thoughts, her mind jarred and she was aroused. She blinked, expecting to see the light of day, but the dark of night still hung in the room. She turned on the light, and looked toward the others' beds. No Angel…no Stitch. She looked at the clock: three in the morning, a time she rarely experienced.

She slid out of bed, and rode the quiet elevator. The halls were dark, and kind of eerie. She knew where Stitch was, or at least she had a very good idea. She made her way down the stairs, each one groaning under her gentle steps. She shuffled across the floor to the door that led outside.

She wished she had something warmer on; the wind was blowing a little strong, and had a good chill to it. Her toes began to numb halfway to the ship, and again she stepped on the rock, a sharp pain striking at her arch. She checked to make sure she wasn't bleeding, but she could hardly tell in the moonlight. Arms crossed and rubbing her shoulders, she went on to the ship. Jumba did a double-take as she entered the vessel.

"Should little girl not be in bed making with the snoozies?" He said with a paternal tone, as he set a screwdriver down.

"I went to bed…" She said groggily, rubbing her eyes. "I just…woke up. I promise." Jumba smiled, and clapped his hands on his lap as he stood from his chair.

"You wish to know how 624 is, no?"

"Stitch isn't upstairs…is he still here?" Jumba's eyes looked up to the side.

"Jumba did not see Six-two-six leave. Is maybe," he motioned, "come, we will check on friends." He extended his hand, and Lilo took it hazily. He led her into the cabin and down to the sick-bay. Stitch was curled in a ball on the floor, his back pressed against the bed Angel was resting in.

"Is she still ok?" Jumba walked toward the monitors to get a closer look at them.

"…Is…in very deep sleep." He said, after a second of picking his words.

"That's not it," Lilo said fatly. Jumba blinked. "C'mon Jumba, I know she's worse than that. I've played enough videogames to tell that those machines don't look too good." Jumba sighed.

"Is…deep sleep, or…sometimes call, 'coma'." Jumba said softly.

"So…Angel's in a coma?" Jumba nodded his head. "This is officially a soap-opera." Stitch shivered. "Will she wake up?"

"Back on bridge, have something to show." They made their way out of the sick-bay and back to the bridge, where Jumba's computer sat open on a table. "Is fixed," He announced, turning it on. "Was just adjusting screen display—was little too dim for Jumba's eyes." Jumba opened the program, and brought up the blue-print like picture again. "Familiar?"

Lilo stared at it for a moment, her eyes still a little fuzzy. She rubbed them, and looked again. The picture was of an insect-like specimen, with cricket-like legs and a roach-like body.

"Yeah…I remember seeing it—"

"On Six-two-four," Jumba finished. She looked up at him. "Have already examined specimen; is nanobot. Found on 624's skin."

"I thought they were fleas," Lilo commented. "How long have they been there?"

"Having no idea. But…do know that they are linked to 624's current state." Lilo's body seemed to surge with life.

"What's going on, what are they doing to her?"

"Sh…relax little girl." He put a hand on her shoulder. The door beside them clicked open, and Stitch emerged from the cabin. "Hm…Six-two-six, sorry for waking."

"Hi Stitch," Lilo said with a smile. His hand went up in a still wave, and then fell back down. "Jumba found out something about Angel's…sleep." His ears perked up, and suddenly he was wide awake too.

"Gaba?" He asked—demanded, rather.

"Hm, since both being here…" He shut his computer. "From what Jumba is understanding, tiny robots on—or _in _Six-two-four, should be saying—are letting loose strong chemistry mumbo-jumbo, which put Six-two-four into…deep sleep." Stitch growled.

"Ju chaba! Miga gunala kastai. Teki mata kulama!"

"Calming down, Six-two-six." Jumba said. Stitch relaxed. "If…are wanting to wake Six-two-four up…are needing to neutralize nanobots."

"Mmkay…" Lilo said, "So we just…shrink ourselves, like we did to capture Poxy, and go after the queen nano-thingy—"

"If doing that, little girl will be getting squishéd." Jumba retorted, "Nanobots are being augmentative cyborgs, designed to make host stronger in some way…but have not researched much into that. What Jumba _do _knowing, is if little girl and Six-two-six go about with shrinking and blasting, eventually nanobots will be overpowering. Nanobots are being extremely intelligent, and will be use Six-two-four's biological defensive system against you as well."

"Gaba nusaba set?"

"Poison nanobots; all at same time."

"What do we have to do?" Lilo asked assertively. Jumba paused for a moment.

"Will be needing _saphaxnyltholigothrymine_."

"Santa-what; English please?"

"_saphaxnyltholigothrymine_, or…'SNOT'." Stitch and Lilo exchanged glances.

"So all we need—" Stitch began to pull mucous from his nose to his mouth, "is snot?" Jumba shook his head. Stitch closed his mouth, blinked twice, and swallowed his ammunition.

"Not _that _kind of snot. Is chemical that…well am supposing is kind of like snot," Jumba said, his hands moving up and down like scales as he weighed the comparison of the two substances in his mind. "But, is not point at hand. According to research, have discovered that compositionness of AC-Nanobots is highly reactivity to _snot_: when comes into contacting of nanobot, causes melt-down of little buggy—_poof_," his hands made a star-burst, "Instant liquification."

"So all we have to do is get some _snot_, give it to Angel, and then she'll be fine?" Jumba nodded his head. "Ok Stitch, let's go find some."

"Eh!" They both started to run for the door.

"Waiting one moment, little girl and little troublemaker-of-mine." They both paused in mid-step, and turned back. "Jumba cannot be letting you two just going off in middle of earth-night. Bigger girl would have Jumba's keester on silver platter."

"But Jumba…"

"Especially…" He continued, "Without knowing where to go, and preparing." He gave her a wink. She smiled, and looked at Stitch.

"I guess it would be kinda nice to know _where _to find this…santa-_snot_." She giggled at her little joke. Stitch gave her a smile that suddenly frowned, then twitched in between. "Where are we headed?"

"To planet many light-years away… Am not exactly sure of it, but knowing it is there. It has little use, other than mineral resources…but Galactic Federation not excavated in long time." Jumba scratched his chin. "Will be needing space-suits and hyperdrive engine—which Jumba has already prepared in ship; little girl must also need food and water…even with hyperdrive, will be long trip."

"Hm…Ok, I'll get some cheese and crackers…and maybe some soda. C'mon Stitch." Without a word, Stitch followed. They tip-toed as they got close to the house, "Sh…" Lilo said. "Be real quiet—Nani's sleeping." Stitch nodded. "You get the supplies; I'll get some other stuff together and meet you back at the ship." Another nod and they snuck back into the house. They split, Stitch heading directly for the cupboard. Lilo made her way back up the stairs with the same care that she had taken to creep down. Back up in her room, she hastily changed; back into shorts and a T-shirt. She grabbed one of her backpacks hanging in the closet, and stuffed a couple changes of clothes.

She scoured her room for supplies; some rope, a compass, a small flashlight, and of course, her camera. However, she didn't exactly know where the last item was; she began to search. Not in her dresser—or her nightstand; not the closet, toy chest or near her un-hung pictures. She tapped her chin for a second, and finally thought to check under her bed.

"Aha!" She said loudly at first, and then stifled. She grabbed for the camera without looking, but noticed she had something different in her hand—a small purple gun. She stared at it for a moment—once capable of switching bodies, it was now capable of transferring strength from one person to another. A thought came into her mind, which told her to take it along. She took care to wrap it in a muumuu, and then put it in the middle of the pack. Then she looked at the clock; it was almost three-twenty; she picked up her things and made haste back to the ship.

"We got everything?" She asked, and Stitch gave her a prompt reply.

"Ship stocked and ready, coordinates in place…all are having to do is push button."

"Cool…but…" Lilo had a thought, "Won't the noise of the ship taking off wake up Nani?" Jumba smiled with pride.

"Not _this _time; Jumba is experimenting with new 'silent launch' technology! An engine which—"

"Awesome! Race ya Stitch!" Lilo ran for the ship, Stitch in toe, and they both clambered in.

"Must be _very _careful, Jumba is not knowing what is on planet. As soon as landing, contacting Jumba."

"All righty!"

"Eh!" The hatch closed. Lilo waved bye to Jumba, and Stitch turned the key. The two took off with a muffled noise, like the wind blowing through the clouds overhead, and soon with that wind they flew—up—up—and then they disappeared into the night. Jumba sighed after a pause, and turned.

"So…what planet did you send them off to _this _time, _Jumba_?" Jumba's nervous eyes met Nani's glare.

"Ah…this is the life—_finally _a _vay-kay-shunn!_" Six-two-five sat atop Gantu's ship, looking at the night sky and listening to the waterfall in the background. "How bout it Gant'? A chance to unwind and relax without ol' Hamster-ball to mess it up."

"I _hate _this planet." Gantu muttered, rubbing his scalp.

"You know, you should really use some sun-block. I hear it's good for people who are easily burned by UVA and UVB radiation like yourself."

"Have you been watching info-mercials again?" The experiment shrugged.

"I like my television." He said, swallowing a sandwich.

"You also like wasting a lot of earth-currency. Without Hamsterveil providing us with money, how are we going to get supplies…equipment…?" Six-two-five shrugged again. "…Bread and cold-cuts." He said with a slight grin. Six-two-five's eyes jolted open.

"Gee…I never thought of it _that _way…whatddya suppose we do?"

"I have no idea…what do earthers do to acquire their silly green currency?"

"They," he gulped, "They…_work_." He said with a tone of detest. "Oh well, it looks like you'll have to get a job if you want to earn some cold, hard cash."

"_Me_?" Gantu stomped his foot on the ground. "Why is it suddenly _my _requirement to get a job? I don't see _you _work at all; perhaps _you_ should be the one to get a job."

"Please, Gantu," six-two-five replied, "I do plenty around here: I make breakfast, lunch _and _dinner; I wash the clothes; and I even make your bed." He pointed the end of his foot-long club-sandwich at Gantu as he addressed the former Captain, and then promptly bit upon it.

"You _eat _breakfast, lunch and dinner; I wear the same outfit every day; and you sleep in _my _bed."

"Yeah, and you should really do something about it too, cuz your bed reeks—maybe it's the fact you don't wear anything but that tacky jumpsuit."

"This 'jumpsuit' is a first-class uniform worn by the Captain of the Galactic Defense Force. I may be reinstated at any moment, so I must always be prepared." After his retort, he blinked, and then took a quick whiff of his armpit.

"I rest my case." Six-two-five said, finishing his club.

"Hmph. At any rate, who says you can't get a job…a job you can enjoy."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa stop right there Mr. Captain," he said, hopping down from the hood of the ship, "the words _job _and _enjoy_ should never be used in the same sentence, especially when referring to yours truly. Those words are as far apart in taste as salami and provolone; if you put them together you're in for a _real _stomach-ache."

"Hm…well, consider this: you _could _work in a deli." Six-two-five raised his eyebrow and turned his head, staring at nothing, thinking to himself for a moment.

"Where do I sign?" He said with a smile, rubbing his hands together.


	6. Like Taking Candy

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 6: Like Taking Candy…

Jumba sighed and scratched his chin. It wasn't so much that Nani chewed him out, or that he set Lilo and Stitch into an impending doom as soon as they set foot back on Mother Earth; it was more that…he wondered what dangers he was sending Nani's little sister into that he had told no one. A vaguely explored planet by the Alliance, useless after the discovery of a more potent energy crystal; now was more or less a forgotten pile of mud. Or perhaps it had regained some of its former life…maybe even started a new evolution of species. The thought intrigued Jumba at first, and then made him shudder.

There was a small beep that suddenly came to his focus. It felt like he had just noticed it—like a scratch on the back of one's arm that only hurts when first felt. He turned to the machine that cried for attention. The EEG showed her consciousness taking another nose-dive; she was slipping further into realms of sleep no one should really slip. At this rate, she'd be a vegetable before Lilo and Stitch even _got _to the planet. Jumba felt his spine tingle; he had to do something—he couldn't just let things go the way they were. He turned and stood, and headed for the bridge—when the EEG stopped harassing his ears.

He turned back and examined it; the display showed an anomaly: it seemed that she was completely conscious according to the display. Jumba looked at Angel—clearly she was not. He stared at the machine another moment—it was foolish to think the machine was wrong, but there was no reason for its result...at least, not that he could see. But the machine was only that—a machine; it was designed to show the consciousness of a person. It wasn't lying—it was telling the truth…it just didn't tell him anything else. He believed it…something in him said to—an evil-genius's gut feeling is surprisingly clairvoyant at times. But still, he wanted to know—what did the machine know, or see, that Jumba was overlooking.

"Well," Lilo said, as soon as they left earth, "here we go…off again to save Angel."

"Eh," Stitch replied, checking the ship's calibration before he let go of the yoke. "Stitch hungry."

"Jumba packed some supplies," Lilo said, following him to the back of the ship. "…How long was Jumba planning on us being away?" Lilo looked at the stash of provisions—originally the ship had two escape pods, but one was taken out to make room for what looked like a few weeks' worth of rations. Stitch opened a box of graham crackers, and gave a pack to Lilo. They sat down where they stood as they ate; Stitch wolfed his in a few bites, while Lilo ate only a few squares before putting the packet away. "So, how long of a ride are we in for?"

"Um…" Stitch looked back at the console, "tikida monta," he said, holding up both hands.

"Great…stuck on a ship for like…a day." Stitch shook his head. "Ok, half a day." His left ear fell, as he displayed his hands again. "I get it…half a half-a-day." Stitch nodded. "Still, that's a long time…" She yawned, "But I'm kinda tired…so maybe it won't be so bad…" Stitch yawned with agreement.

"Enchujata, be there no time."

"Yeah…it is still night time on Earth…we don't want our sleep schedules getting—" Lilo froze for a moment, looking to the side at nothing in particular as she let the words she was about to say run through her head. "Jeez, I almost sounded like a _responsible _person." Stitch stuck out his tongue. "But still…I'm tired. Is this thing on autopilot?"

"Eh." He replied.

"Cool," Lilo pulled out her pajamas and went into the escape pod. "I'll be right out," she said, as the door shut. Stitch still turned, as there was a small window on the pod that—if he _wanted_ to—he could look through. Turning away from the door after a long pause, he went to the console and checked coordinates—again. Not much was active system-wise; everything was disabled, bar the radar, oxygen compressor and a couple of lights. Otherwise communication, battle, even using the restroom, would take up too much power. Stitch turned as Lilo opened the door. "Hey, where are we gonna sleep?"

"Hm…" Stitch shut the panel off and made a hop for the supplies. He scanned through the objects, and came across a sleeping bag. "Iki taka," He said, diving into the pile. Only a few things were thrown across the ship in order to reach the bag, but enough that Lilo made him pick everything up before they rolled it out. It was long enough to fit in the ship twice, but not quite wide enough—it crept up the sides in the back a few inches. They salvaged a bunch of pillows from the overhead compartments, and patched the rear wall full of them.

"This'll be like camping," Lilo said with a giggle, "Except we're in a ship…in outer space. But still—it's cool!" Stitch agreed, pulling a blanket from overhead and unfolding it with a whip. Lilo was already lying down as the blanket alighted over her body like a feather; she straightened it a bit, and just as she did Stitch messed it up by climbing in. "thanks a lot," She said with flat eyebrows. Stitch grinned.

"Soka," He finally said, carefully getting comfortable. Lilo waited for him, and then lied down, fitting her half of the sheets to her liking. "Enchujae, Lilo."

"G'night Stitch, again." She said, pulling the sheets up to her neck. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"…L…Lilo," Stitch began to ask. She rolled over to face him—his eyes were open, barely lit by the low lighting of the console at the front of the ship.

"What is it?" She moved her arm and fiddled with his ear.

"Angel…be ok…eh?" She saw the glint of his eyes, and the light blue nose twitch a little bit. She smiled, and scooted closer, wrapping her extended arm around his torso in a hug.

"Don't worry; all we have to do is find that...snot…thing, and then she'll be cured." Stitch blinked—maybe, she couldn't tell. She felt his hands gently hold onto her arm; he closed his eyes. She smiled as she watched him breathe. After a moment, she realized he wasn't going to let go of her arm. Something warm swelled up her throat—not a lump, but something similar. Her cheeks felt warm, and a strange feeling overcame her; she couldn't explain it. She watched him sleep, and something about the way his hands held her arm…

She started to nod off, and caught herself doing so; the gentle purring of the ship's engine disturbed her to waking. She shook her head, just a little, to wake herself up. _"I gotta do this first…" _Ever so carefully she pulled her arm from his; she moved so cautiously and slowly that she developed a bit of a twitch from being flexed so long. She slid out from the covers, and went to her backpack with the lightest of movements. She zipped it open only enough to fit her hand inside, and felt around inside.

Finally, she found what she was looking for—she unzipped it a bit more to pull it through. She held the purple gun with both hands for a moment. In the dim light, she could see its ribbed barrel and the shine off of its curves. At the butt of the gun, she observed a small dial that gave a ranking one to ten.

_"Stitch used this gun to give me some of his powers—so I wonder if I can use it…" _She looked back at him, then back at the barrel, rethinking her plan. _"I only want a little bit—just enough so that it boost me without him noticing it's gone. Maybe…15," _She turned the dial from thirty to about fifteen. Then, she second guessed herself and picked ten. She looked back at Stitch, and then to the gun. Her tongue licked her lips. _"Still too much…seven—seven should do…no eight. Eight." _She moved it to eight.

_"Now I just have to touch him and zap him with it," _She thought, as she moved over to him. _"Hopefully he won't wake up." _She took in a deep breath, and put her hand on his right shoulder. She let her breath go after a moment, and pointed the gun at his chest. _"Three…two…one…_wait!_" _Her mind snapped suddenly, and her finger left the trigger. _"Think, girl; if you touch him, the powers go right back to him. You can very easily accidentally put your hand on his shoulder, and _bam_, goodbye powers." _She removed her hand. _"So…do something else…something that won't accidentally transfer the power back—something different…maybe, if I touch two places at once; that should work. But how; I've only got one hand…unless…"_

Lilo looked back at the sleeping Stitch; his eyes were shut and his mouth was ajar as his jaw relaxed in his slumber. Her heart and head thundered with stress; she pictured him waking up as she pulled the trigger, wondering what she was doing. She wondered if he would be mad with her…or lose his trust in her. Technically, she was stealing from him. Finally, she took in a breath and let it go, closed her eyes, and held the gun up as she moved closer.

She felt a chill run down her back, and almost saw the light emitted from the transfer through her eyelids. Quick; the deed was quick. She hastily let go of him and turned to put the gun away; her heart thundered. She wiped the sweat from her neck—she was so nervous she was actually sweating.

_"There…" _She thought, as she zipped her backpack shut. _"I did it, and I can feel it too—Now maybe I can understand…" _Her excitement started to make her drowsy; her eyes grew heavy. She went back under the covers, and looked over Stitch a moment. He twitched, and she flinched with a gasp. A moment of silence passed; she relaxed a bit. Trembling, she found his torso, and his arms. She wanted to be back the way she was before—with his arms hooked around hers. Carefully she made it so, with a little less caution than before. Again, the warm lump in her throat formed; she swallowed. She scooted closer to him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. She could hear his heart thundering in his chest, combining its beat with the hum and murmur of the ship.

"_And no worries either…there's no chance of it accidentally going back—not in a million years."_

She closed her eyes, and promptly slipped away.

Angel felt light-headed and weightless; she felt relaxed and limp yet somehow tense. She was drifting…drifting…on a current; she felt herself floating in a current. Her eyes snapped open, and she turned around and vertically at the same time. With only an exhale for emotion she glimpsed a strange environment—darkness, with streams of gray traveling infinitely to the distance, like she was in a tunnel; a tunnel of water.

She turned by swiveling her body; but she wasn't in water. She could breathe and move quickly, but she was floating and drifting in an underwater darkness—that wasn't water, but there was no way to explain the behavior of her motions. There was no ground—how else could she be floating?

"There you are…" A voice echoed across the blackness. She swirled around, and began to swivel in all sorts of directions—upside-down, horizontal, obliquely. When she finally slowed, the wisps of gray were converging above and below her—she felt queasy. "Relax," the voice said warmly, "Hold out your hand." She looked around for a moment, unable to find her voice to ask _who _and _where_. Hesitantly, she extended her arm in front of her. Something clasped around it, and abruptly the darkness was—visually to her—sucked away into the infinite distance. She looked at the darkness seep away, and then to the holder of her hand. An experiment—just under her height—with white fur and a violet accent on its stomach that crawled up to its lower jaw, smiled at Angel.

She desperately tried to ask who he was, where she was, _why_, _how_; but something held her mouth shut—or she couldn't move it. The experiment let go of her hand and she felt around her lips. They were normal, nothing wrong. She opened them, and formed the words she wanted to say, but no voice came out.

"You cannot speak that way, Angel. Speak with your mind."

_'How do you know my name?'_ She asked with a glare. The experiment smiled. Suddenly, in the wisps of fog around them, a patch of gray cleared; displayed like a very large picture in a movie-theatre, was Jumba's computer's divination of Experiment 624.

"Experiment 624, Angel," The white experiment read aloud, "Primary function: Using a siren song to turn good to evil, or evil to good when sung backward."

_'Where am I?'_ She snapped with a feral tone. The tunnel around them, covered in smog, rippled.

"Do not be angry," the experiment said with a smile, "I am not here to hurt you; in fact, I am helping you stay alive." Angel's floating body took a defensive stance. The experiment frowned. "Maybe you don't believe me? I understand…let me show you," He waved his hand, and the fog spread again on the side of the tunnel. She glared at the experiment.

"Is not looking good…" Angel turned her head as she heard Jumba's voice. Through the window she saw Jumba sitting in a chair, next to a bed. She peered closer; inside the bed, she saw herself. "If regression continues…624 will begin to…lose more than just consciousness." The window collapsed, and the moving fog was unbroken once more. Angel looked at the white experiment.

_'…Start talking.' _She said assertively.

"Firstly, Angel, my name is Chroney…"


	7. Hanging by a Thread

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 7: Hanging by a Thread  
(of Time)

_'Chroney; as in…chronos—time?'_

"Precisely; you've probably guessed by my appearance, that I indeed am an experiment like yourself—a 'cousin' as you call it."

_'Which number are you?' _Angel's legs moved to sit cross-legged, to mimic Chroney. In a way, it made her more relaxed.

"I was…never assigned a number. I was actually made out of necessity."

_'Necessity…what necessity?'_

"Why, to fix the damage to the time-stream, of course," He flipped upside-down, as if he was bored and looking to do something else; his eyes kept focus on Angel though.

_'Damage…what happened?'_ Angel tilted her head, and tried to turn upside-down as well, but she accomplished only disorientation, and a break of her posture. She flailed a bit to get re-oriented. Chroney replied as soon as she was situated.

"Rather than waste time to tell you—I will show you. Look that way," He motioned toward the wall of the 'tube' that they appeared to be in. Angel watched for what she knew was a long time, but only felt a moment pass, all the events that took place after she escaped from the hangar that day so long ago. Except…she watched what happened to Stitch—saw him fighting with an experiment that looked something like an augmented 625.

He lost, sadly, and was tricked into getting frozen in a transport ship. It took off. Jumba's voice spoke a message to him, about the passage of time, and preparing to fix the time-stream. The picture closed, and a new one opened up beside it. She moved over.

This one displayed Stitch, emerging from a ship in the leafy meadow near Lilo's house. That one disappeared as well, and to its side—where the original one was—a third picture took form. Angel's eyes widened as Lilo—a _teenaged _Lilo—was eating breakfast with Stitch. She blinked, and above, a new image appeared. Three were simultaneously showing now—The one in front showed Stitch taking the red pendant from Lilo's hand; the one that she recognized hung on the wall. The one above it showed Stitch, giving the same pendant to the normal five-year-old Lilo. The third, showed Stitch, Lilo and the stronger-looking 625, staring each other down. The images faded.

"Do you remember this?" Chroney asked. The image that formed next, showed her with Stitch and Lilo. Stitch was wounded, with some bloodied cuts. She was tearing out some of her fur to help the blood clot.

_'I do…I remember going there because of a dream…that turned out to be real.'_

"Angel, that was no dream. It was a reality that I showed you—your future."

_'…Some questions aside,' _Angel finally looked at Chroney, swiveling her body around, _'Tell me—that was 625 right?'_

"Good eye; yes, it was 625 from an alternate time-stream."

_'Was he the reason for the time-stream's disturbance?'_

"Quite the contrary—were it not for him, the time-stream would have continued to degrade. It wasn't his entering the past that caused the time-stream to split."

_'It wasn't? But…from my understanding of what you showed me, when he came to the past, time started to split.'_

"No; indeed time _did _split at that point, but the origin of the tear…" He paused, and turned around. For a moment he was silent, as if he had not intention of speaking. Angel waited, wondering if she had to press him for the end of his answer. Just as she was about to—"Time unravels with your death."

Lilo stirred, her dreams interrupted by a shift in speed of the ship. She opened her eyes; sleep still in her peripheral system. Her head lied on Stitch's chest, and with his breath her head rose and fell just a bit. She closed the relaxed hand at his side upon him, and held him for a moment in a tight hug. _"It was nice while it lasted…" _She said with disdain. She closed her eyes and held the embrace a moment longer, and then let her arms loose with a sigh. As she tore away, she immediately longed for the warmth that was taken over by the chill of severence.

"Hey Stitch, wake up!" She said just above a whisper. "I think we're getting close to the planet." Stitch groaned as he opened his eyes for a second, and just as they reached halfway, they closed. "Wake _up!_" She shoved him—gently—and he snorted.

"Oketaka miga slu…miga…awake." He sat up, and rubbed his head. A spot on his chest and side felt a little warmer than the rest of him. He looked at Lilo. "Sleep good?" Lilos' cheeks turned pink just a little.

"I slept fine…how about you?"

"Like kajooma." He replied. With a _hup _noise from his throat, he stood up and made his way to the console. Sure enough, the rainbow tunnel of hyperdrive was gone, and dark space took the view. He took the shading filter off the window with the press of a button, and scanned the space. Below, almost out of site, was the curve of a planet shrouded in darkness. He took up the headset, and turned on the radio. "Stitch to Jumba, Stitch to Jumba, over?"

"…That's 'copy' Six-two-six…not 'over'. But yes, hear you fine; are there no?"

"Eh! Destination below, gravity pull ship in…six minute."

"Good. Before you are landing on planet, must explain. Is little girl there?"

"Right here!" Lilo said, as she came out of the make-shift changing room. "Your co-pilot is on the bridge."

"Little girl not co-pilot. No funny-funny, mission very serious. Must be explaining mission now." Jumba cleared his throat. "Are looking for _snot_, if can remember. _Snot _can be found on planet; is bright blue jelly-like substance, but will be hard to find. Only can find inside of cave in planet…and, very rare. Are needing large sample, as much as can handle." The radio fizzed a bit—more than the usual amount throughout. It crackled loudly, and Jumba's voice came again. "Copy?"

"That's a copy mad-potato." Lilo replied into the microphone on Stitch's headset.

"Evil genius is not comparable to large water-based vegetative…never mind, must get back to business. Six-two-six you must listen—time is of essentialness, and all of us running out. If you are not finding _snot _very soon, am afraid Six-two-four will—"

A loud explosion thundered in Lilo's ears; she felt her body lurch forward—if it wasn't for the belt around her, she would have flown into the ceiling with recoil. The radio sparked, and the ship's lights went out.

"Wh…what was that?" Lilo asked nervously.

"Nugama, nothing…" Stitch began to quickly press buttons.

"Is…everything ok?"

"Peach," Stitch said hastily, rushing his hands over the console.

"Are you—"

"One second, Lilo." He said, a note of irritation rising in his voice.

"Stitch…" He pressed a button—waited—pressed it again—waited. He pressed it over and over rapidly for a few seconds, and finally slammed his fist down with a small shout of frustration, denting the console in. He looked at the mass before them; it was coming into view—a bit too rapidly. Stitch unhooked Lilo's belt, and took her hand. "Hey, what's going on?" She asked, as Stitch dragged her to the back of the ship.

"Stitch need help. Lilo go there," He pushed her—shoved her almost—into the makeshift change-room.

"Ok, now what?" She asked, looking at him.

"Uh…now, Lilo turn, uh…look up. Tell Stitch when feel dizzy."

"I feel dizzy _now_, why—h-hey!" Lilo ran forward, but the door closed too late. She looked through the window, and saw Stitch with a forlorn expresson.

"Bye-bye," He said, changing to a smile and a wave. Lilo felt a lurch, and she pressed against the door. The ship started to move in front of her—she could see it moving forward. The cockpit got narrower, and Stitch was getting smaller. She could see the outside space around the ship…the engines…the large planet behind the ship. Then she realized—she was being ejected.

"Sti—tch!" The ship flared and turned bright orange; it took on the effect of a fireball as it descended to the planet. Bright flecks of metal flaked from the body of it, and she could see Stitch, holding on to the edge, looking up at her—the same smile, but panic in his eyes. She could feel panic—his panic. He was panicking about her—not himself. She knew from the part of him she stole. "Ow!"

She shot back to the center of her pod as she felt the metal door heat up her arms. The window was glowing with orange—she was entering the planet now. It got hot—really hot. She fell on her rump as the pod hit turbulence; she rolled over on her stomach and flattened out as best she could. Her knuckles buckled with tension as she used what little of Stitch's powers she had to adhere to the surface. Her palms were wet, her heart thundered, the noise in her head was overwhelming. She closed her eyes.

Oh how she wished to be lying half-asleep, next to Stitch; her arms around him, hugging him tightly. In the bliss of her panic, she felt a sense of serenity, and to her mind, that moment was relived as she felt the crack of impact.

_'Y…you're saying I'm…going to…_die?_' _Angel managed to ask, after a long moment. Chroney turned around very slowly.

"Of course not Angel; I won't let that happen again. You were never meant to…die, so I will see to it that it does not occur."

_'When…how…do I…?' _Angel couldn't get the words.

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you. Revelation of that knowledge can cause a paradox. You know you died—that is as much as can be said. But remember, that was not meant to happen, so be glad that time itself is upset enough to make sure you stay alive." Angel found herself turning sideways. "You seem to be taking this a bit more rationally than I expected…you don't believe me?"

_'…Half of me is trying to convince the other that this is a dream. Please let it be so…let me wake up…please?'_

"I am sorry Angel, but this is no dream…and you are unable to wake up."

_'C'mon…you can't keep me here. Where _is _"here" anyway—and why am I _here_?'_

"Ah," Chroney began to spin around a bit, stretching out his arms as she asked the questions he had been waiting for. "Where are we and why? Those are good thoughts; please voice more of them if you can. But for answers, you deserve them!"

_'You're acting happy, for someone who just delivered news of my eminent demise.' _Angel raised an eyebrow.

"Happiness keeps one calm in even the most dire of situations. Now allow me to explain: _where_; you are in the time-stream itself. Well…actually, it is hard to explain—you are _always _in the time-stream, so long as time flows for you. But you travel just as fast as the time-stream, so you see everything that travels as fast as you do—much like how you see everything in a vehicle at the same speed you are." He spun once, and the fog all around them seemed to clear just a bit—Angel looked about; she was in Jumba's ship, with Jumba sitting below her. She was floating in the air above a table—overlooking her body; she appeared to be unconscious.

"But, all around you, this is the time-stream outside of what you see; much like outside the car the world is seen as a huge blur! You don't see this—you can't; not unless you slow down."

_'So then…this fog and tunnel…is always here? And right now…I'm traveling at a slow velocity—so slow that…the "car" is going ahead of me—like I'm someone on the street?'_

"Yes—and yes," Chroney seemed excited. "You catch on quickly!"

_'So then, what I see now, is present time; judging by the way it looks—with the fog still kind of there…we're still going slower, but fast enough for me to be…in the backseat of the car?'_

"Jumba did a good job making you. Clever and beautiful." Angel flinched.

'Is he hitting on me?' She thought. _'Ok…so now tell me why, please.'_

"Good, you're remembering your manners. I can tell you're relaxing. Well—to make a long story short, you're in a coma. Right now—in your body—there are hundreds of tiny nanobots leaking sleep-agents into your bloodstream."

_'And that's why I'm here? This is what happens to people when they're in comas?'_

"No; you, Angel, are a very special case. It was a great risk bringing you here, but I felt it necessary. You see…by bringing your consciousness here, I'm saving you a lot of time. Eventually, the robots will pump so much of the sleeping-agent into your body…that you won't be able to wake up at all."

_'…So that's how I die.' _She said, a little more casually than she intended.

"Not quite!" Chroney flipped upside down. "Don't guess anymore—if you keep at it you'll cause the time-stream to go every-which-way all over again." He turned right-side-up, and a serious expression took his face; his voice changed back to formality. "Now that the hard news is out of the way…Angel, I'm keeping your conscious mind here to save it from the sleep-agents. It's not permanent, but it will buy Stitch some time to save you. Right now, at a second of our time, only a third of a second is going by in real-time. Both Lilo and Stitch are on another planet, looking for a chemical that will save you from your eternal sleep—it reminds me of the story of sleeping beauty."

'Was that another shot at me?' Angel sighed. _'Ok, the whole of me believes you…so what do we do here?'_

"Well…we can talk about things. Or wait…would you like to see how your friends are doing?" Angel looked at Chroney.

_'Yes…please.' _Chroney motioned for the picture to form; it showed Stitch, among a pile of wreckage; his eyes were just beginning to open.


	8. Solitude

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 8: Solitude

Stitch's mind stirred; his eyes opened just a bit. A bright orange light glared in his vision; his lids shut. His ears heard a noise, and his mind stirred again. Blaring light in his vision; he closed his eyes. For a third time he stirred, this time aware of a tremendous heat nearby; he opened his eyes, and the blaring light shone again—tinted crimson this time. He shut his eyes but started to move; he rolled onto his stomach, away from the heat, and got up by his knees. His back ached, as he was lying arched; his head felt swollen in the back. As he clumsily stood to his feet, a numbing wave of dizziness overtook him, and crystals of light flooded his vision. He leaned to his right, and clasped a hunk of metal for support. A second later, his hand bulked and he hissed with pain; the metal was burning to the touch.

As the flashing specks of light in his vision faded, he started to make out where he was: all around him metal was twisted and wrecked. There were tiny fires, one only a foot away from him. The sound he heard was a crackle from the com-link, which was filled with the usual static otherwise. He was inside the cockpit of the ship—or the front half of the ship at least. There was nothing left of it but the ceiling, console, and the wall to his right, split horizontally. His vision cleared, and he noticed a thin purple fog in the air; it clouded the windows of the cockpit, and he could see it get thicker at the rear end of the broken ship, which was actually high up in the air; the ship was slanted, with its rear tilted up, and its nose pointed down.

Stitch looked at the console behind him—surprisingly, it was still working, judging by the com-link that crackled and fizzed. He pushed a button on the console, and blue light, tinged purple in the fog, burst forth from the projection lens in the computer. The hologram was broken; half of it showed the program of the button he pushed, and the other half was a shattered glimmer of light that glinted off the broken glass and ceiling of the cockpit.

A yellow slug-like grub appeared, crawling through the broken glass. As it slid by, it left a trail of slightly luminous, clear liquid. Stitch flicked it off the console, and watched it fly back from where it came. An earthy noise came to his ears—it sounded something like crickets, but it was more like groaning than chirping. Curious, he scurried up the ramp-way and poked his head out of the hole in the back of the ship.

He witnessed the fullness of the new environment in a few short moments. The first thing he saw was the dominating fog; it was deep violet, and limited vision only a little bit, until very far out. He looked down; the fog turned green as it met with a bright, soupy liquid. It covered a majority of the ground, like a swamp, and its color and the dark specks in it reminded Stitch of mint-chocolate chip ice cream; except the liquid had a bright glow to it. In the fog, blurry white dots, barely tinted the color of the liquid below, drifted all around him, like little glowing bugs. He noticed trees with no leaves and gnarled branches and bodies, that had green spots on them, same color as the muck below, and every once in a while, a firefly-like light would emit from the darkness of the roots. Stitch saw a dark red flower at the base of one of the trunks in the far distance. The ship itself crashed into a tree, and knocked it over; he seemed to be on a large spot of ground in the swamp.

A thought in the back of his mind made his eyes bulge for just a moment, and he dropped back into the ship, and hastily searched to and fro, until he found a tan-colored rucksack. _Lilo_. He held it for a moment, and then put it on his back. _"I have to find her…" _He thought with urgency. _"There's no time to waste!"_ He ran up the ramp-way and jumped out of the ship; he caught onto one of the gnarled branches of the tree, and witnessed a wink of light fly away. He looked around in all directions—trees, swamp, murky green ice cream soup, fog; all he could see was nothing. The branch started to snap, and before he could react he felt his weight drop; the backpack caught onto the edge of the branch as he fell, and his arms slipped out of the straps.

He met the soupy gook belly-on; it was surprisingly thick, he found, after he landed in it. It wasn't too deep, and he sighed with relief—he was afraid he would sink in it like water. He stood, and it came up to just under his chest. It felt eerie; his feet were unusually warm, and his chest was unusually cold—in the middle of his torso he felt comfortable. He thought it was strange it was warm on the _bottom_, but he reminded himself that science could wait—a friend was somewhere out there. He looked up; the backpack wasn't far above his head. He jumped up, and snatched it by the strap; his hands, he saw, were covered a bit by the liquid, and glowing.

He held the backpack in one hand and flicked the goop off of the other as he made his way onto a patch of land. His lower-half was radiant in glow; he shook off a good amount of warm slime, but some still clung to his fur. He growled—no more wasting time—he shouldered the rucksack and started to run. He ran, and ran, hopping over puddles of glowing slime and passing by trees covered in yellow moss—which later he realized were colonies of the yellow maggot-like bug he flicked through the glass earlier.

He had no idea where he was going, as he couldn't see very far ahead through the fog, but one thing was for sure—it started smelling less pungent. There was a distinct odor in the air that he could smell only every once in a while, like a small pile of rotting garbage. He figured to go away from that smell, as following it would only get him deeper into the swamp. Finally, his logic proved true; he broke through a thicket of very tough reeds and could see the fog was thinning, and there were no puddles of glowing muck as far as he could tell.

_"I'll find you, Lilo!" _He said to himself, and burst through the reeds and onto the soft, carpet-like grass. His lungs felt as though they were actually breathing now—he noticed that the air tasted sweeter on his tongue too; he hadn't realized he was in such a decaying area until now. Finally, the fog was gone and he could see the sky—a black and infinite sky. Stars and galaxies were clearly visible—the haze of the earth's atmosphere didn't exist on this planet. Instead it was something different, clear but somehow just as good. Stitch realized this as he took in a breath—and it made him at ease. If he could breathe, so could Lilo.

But he had to rest; he started to cough. Anything poisonous or dangerous in that swamp wouldn't have bothered him too much—his immune system was very powerful; it would only take him a few moments to fight off everything he may have encountered. That worried him—alien disease; Lilo was exposed to a new air. Just like that, his hope had a sharp edge: the same air he was thankful she could breathe could have something in it that was toxic to her. He growled.

_"Where do I start?" _He looked around; hills, trees every now and again, a flat plain of carpet-like grass, glowing rocks in the distance—where could she have landed? He looked for smoke, but couldn't see any; he looked for firelight, in all of his visions, but even his thermal was met with dismay. He let out a very uneasy breath; he suppressed an intense panic that started to rise from his stomach.

His impulsive mind told him to run; as he started his pace, his eyes blinked, and his nocturnal vision winked on; he switched between that and thermal as he ran. He was smart, too; he ran for high ground—the highest he could see. It was far, but there was a large rock ahead, sitting before a giant and glowing orb in the sky that must have been the planet's sun. Another freight plagued Stitch: radiation. Did the planet's atmosphere block it? That only made his pace quicken.

He lost focus after quite a while of running, and tripped on a glowing red stone that protrude from the ground—one of many he saw but didn't care to note. He flew a few feet before he made contact with the soil, and even after that he recoiled into the air and began to bounce for quite a distance more. Finally he skidded to a stop and snapped upright. He spat a dark liquid onto the ground, and tasted copper in his mouth.

He ignored it—along with the rising pain in his hip—and kept running. He made it to the top of the protruding stone a few minutes later, and balked as he nearly fell off the edge of a rather steep little cliff. The land around him on either side sloped rather quickly, and he was at the only spot that was more or less a drop-off. It was almost all flat bar the sides—it was a very large basin. Far in the distance, to his left, a glowing purple mass shined off the dark ground—he assumed it to be like the liquid of the swamp, but with different qualities. He scanned the landscape—a deep gouged trail followed by smoke and a tiny fire wasn't hard to miss against the dark, glow-speckled backdrop of the ground.

His ocular-zoom magnified the object—it was much too far to make out distinctly, but he could definitely confirm it was the escape pod to the ship. Thankfully it wasn't shrouded in fire, but did have a few small ones near it.

"Tagiro!" He exclaimed, and without pausing for a heartbeat he made his way down—straight down. He could almost hear the calling of his name, _"Stitch! Stitch!" _His ears and cheeks rippled in the air as he dove, and curled for a rolling-land. _"Stitch…Stitch…" _He felt an impact—but not the ground. He was outstretched and arched back, and he felt a pressure against his back and chest that squeezed against him; he opened his eyes, and realized that the calling of his name was the cawing of a strange, alien bird. He was trapped in its beak.

"Haggata! Haggata!" He tried to move, but his arms were caught, and his legs weren't mobile enough to do much of anything. He looked at the bird—it was dark, like everything else on the planet, and decorated in dimly glowing red dots on the edges of its wings. "Lilo…" He muttered, as his head craned to the right—he could see the fleck of light where the pod was in the distance…fleeting…fleeting, "Naga…"

The bird took him back to the swamp-area; he struggled to get free, but it was hopeless. He could easily get away from the bird, but his strength was useless against physics, and leverage wasn't his ally. After a while, he was too tired to keep up, and eventually he gave up, and let his body hang. He looked behind the bird, the pod and Lilo were out of sight. The dense fog consumed the distance. Below he could see the familiar swamp, and even the mangled ship.

The bird continued to fly, far beyond the swamp. Three minutes, and Stitch saw a hole in a massive cliff wall that seemed to reach to the heavens of the planet. The bird headed for the hole—which, not surprisingly to Stitch, also glowed, with a violet-blue color. He started to growl as the bird neared the cave, rage swelling in his muscles. The bird alighted on the edge of the cave, and a nest filled with little birds was set a reasonable depth inside. The bird hobbled on its talons over to its nest, and the little hatchlings started to screech. Stitch waited until he was dropped—and acted promptly. He landed on the jutted beaks of the little birds ready to eat him (which they were quite capable of doing so, as they were nearly the size of small bears).

He danced across them as they closed shut, and tried to ignore the little pins and needles of pain that poked his feet as he did so. Finally he made his way to the edge of the nest, and started to run for the edge of the cave. The mother bird chased after him. He looked back, and glared at it while he ran. There were large rocks at the front of the cave that reflected the dim blue-violet light; he stopped by to pick one up and heaved it at the mother bird. It made contact with the head, and it fell forward seeing stars; the rock split, and covered the bird in a viscous blue goo.

"Chimata." Stitch said with content, and then jumped out of the cave backward, so that he could cling onto the wall of the cliff. He looked down, and gulped. It was high, and the bottom was shrouded in the same darkness of the distance that the planet seemed to love—but this darkness wasn't dotted with glowing rocks. He pushed off a bit to fall, and after a while, moved closer to the wall and latched on again. In this way, he rappelled down the wall, but he only managed four or five more cycles before the familiar caw of the bird that caused him so much grief echoed from the cave: _Stitch! _It seemed to call, like a hunter to its pray.

"Nolegweesta…" Stitch mumbled as the bird shot from the cave. He watched it for a moment, and looked down. He was still very high up—but if he didn't move fast, the bird would catch him again. "Iba...chiba…_ziba!_" He counted; he closed his eyes and launched from the wall, and felt his guts rise to his head. He opened his eyes, and saw he was getting close to the wall—and saw the shadow of the bird just barely outlined on its dark-tan surface. It was large—the bird was chasing him. He pushed off the wall again, and turned in the air. The bird swooped. He met its beak this time, and gave it a good smack. The bird flinched in the air, and he continued to drop. He broke through a barrier of foliage, and fell a bit farther—he felt thick leaves break his fall, until finally he landed relatively softly on the ground. He looked around, and could see clearly; hundreds of sparkling lights fluttered in the air; tiny bugs, like fireflies, went to and fro. They flew all around him, their glow reflecting off his claws and eyes. One landed on his nose, and tickled him to a sneeze.

The bugs receded for a bit, but then continued to surround him. He made no more waste, rose and ran. He ran away from the cliff—he could only guess his direction. The infinite bugs lit his path, their light insulated by the thick foliage of area. There were no trees, only thick plants with stalks that rose high enough for six of him to stand on his shoulders and just barely reach the highest thick leaf. Then suddenly, as if the mother nature of the planet had flipped the switch, all of the bugs winked out. Stitch froze for a second, sensing danger—his heart thundered inside his chest. He waited…waited…and finally, after a while, he heard a soft whisper. In just a few heartbeats the atmosphere changed from the mystical glow of the insects, to the ethereal blue glow of a rainstorm. The raindrops were like beads of light, and as they impacted on the surface, they took the outline of the object, and left the untouched surface to darkness. In this ghostly forest Stitch continued to run, with the susurrations of the rain all around him.

As he breached the edge, he paused—his lungs were begging for breath. His hands fell onto his knees, and his ears drooped over his shoulders. The blue rain trickled off of his body, making lines like veins down his arms. He looked at his bicep, and up to his shoulder, and realized the backpack was gone. He growled and wrinkled his brow, rage building up even more inside his body. He forgot his strains and continued to run making a promise to stop only if he had to. He could see the swamp in front of him—the fog was unmistakably massive. _"Cut through or go around?" _No time to circumnavigate; he broke into the veil of mist.

His feet never stumbled, despite the maze of roots and stumps; he leapt across the shallow liquids, and ran over large pools—it was even quicker that way, he found. It seemed at his speed, the goop was as solid as the quagmires at the beach in Kauai. Reminiscing that only made him press on harder. He passed the ship in a second, remembering it only as a blur in his mind. He thought of where to go—and sniffed the air. His aim was almost true; as he emerged, he was only a bit to the right of where he was before—but that was a bit of distance he had to cover. Every bit mattered to him now, every second meant Lilo was alone longer, and every second made him angrier and angrier.

He started to wonder what she was thinking—how she was feeling. She was probably panicking, wondering what was going on. He thought of how she must be so afraid, alone and unprotected. He thought of the bird that attacked him—what if it had gone after her first? His eyes flashed; _no!_ He saw the rock and pushed the thoughts from his head. He ran across it, jumped and tumbled to the ground; he looked around, and with excitement he spotted Lilo's backpack, with a few things spilled out. Hastily he ran to it, and stuffed her things inside. He slung it across his shoulder, and looked toward the escape pod; it wasn't too far away. He took a deep breath and ran.

What if she was in trouble? The thoughts came back; what if she was hurt; trapped; unconscious; what if she had fallen out on impact and wandered around and had gotten lost?

_"No; she's there, she'll be there," _He thought; _"She'll be waiting for me; she'll smile and greet me," _Forty feet away. _"She'll run to me and hug me and be relieved we're together again;" _Thirty,_ "she'll be happy again;"_ Twenty, _"and then we can find the snot and get off this planet!" _He hollered her name and ran to the pod. The door on it was shut and dug partway into the ground. He pushed against the pod, his feet digging into the ground. He called her name again, and shoved against the pod with his shoulder; it moved, an inch. He called again, and with a greater shove it moved more; the door was visible. He smashed his fist against it, denting it in. Again his knuckles impacted; he dug his claws into the seam of the breach and pulled—_pulled_. His arms were numb and started to burn, he was losing energy fast, but still he had to get there; _had to!_

The door broke free, and without any extra antics it flew almost seven yards. Stitch's breath was hoarse, his body was tired, his ears were ringing and his vision was foggy. He looked into the pod, and fell to his hands and knees. _Empty._

Rage was nothing compared to what he felt; all his hope, his joy—his desperation—was put into seeing her face in the pod. Without it, there was nothing but this feeling; the empty feeling that took the place of everything he had dreamed and said to himself, left amplified a hundred fold. He closed his eyes, and closed his palms; his claws dug grooves into the pod's surface. His lids squeezed down, and his forehead wrinkled; his ears flared and his head and shoulders started to tremble. He could hear the blood throbbing from his feet to his temples; his teeth clenched and his heart thundered to his neck.

"Stitch!" He heard in his ear. He turned, his emotions sprouting further to this overwhelming rage; he saw something in his blurry vision: a translucent ghost-like figure. A hallucination that called his name in Lilo's voice—only a trick of his mind, he knew. It would be sorry for what it did. He stood, and turned toward it; with a flick of his right hand, his claws flashed; the blue rain caught in their sheaths dripped from their razor tips.

He ran at the blurry figure; it took a defensive stance. It wouldn't help. He heard it call his name again in Lilo's voice, much more fearful this time. It was afraid. He ran faster; and something got in his way. It was too late, he was on the attack and he wasn't going to stop.

Lilo's voice screamed in his ear; his claws met fabric, tearing into it like butter, and into the flesh underneath. He stumbled against the weight that barred him from the ghost, and tumbled sideways—rolling—rolling. He fell—fell into a haze of blurry streaks of red and blue; a purple blare engulfed his right eye, and the black ground his left. A heavy weight pressed on his back, and a warm liquid seeped onto his neck. His nose scented iron.


	9. The Watchers

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 9: The Watchers

_'So tell me, Chroney; I understand that there was a future 625 who came to our time to try and prevent me from dying but…why did he do what he did to Stitch, and…what happened to him?'_

Chroney opened his eyes; he had been silent and appeared meditative for some time. Angel was actually beginning to grow bored, watching Stitch—all he did was look around. The planet was nothing special either; at least, it didn't catch her attention. Chroney sighed.

"I can't say. To do so would mean uncertain effects. But…I suppose it won't hurt…" He turned around, away from Stitch; the fog took over, but only enough to dim the window; the image could still be seen. He closed his eyes and lifted his hands, palms facing out. It looked as though he was trying to force a thought into existence—even going as far as letting out a strenuous groan. Something started to take shape in the mists; it was pointed on either end and roughly rectangular. It seemed to be moving, rather than just appearing; Chroney started pulling his arms back like a mime, and as he did the object came closer.

Angel saw it was a crystal, and a rather large one at that. It was bright white, stood tall, and rotated around its longer axis. Angel saw nothing that connected it to Chroney's hands, but it seemed to move at relatively the same rate as his hands pulled. She wondered how he was doing it—telekinesis? The crystal came closer, and she realized just how big it was; she could easily fit inside of it. Chroney stopped pulling it closer, and reached out to grab her hand.

"Come with me," He beckoned. She held out her hand without hesitation, but he floated away before she could grasp it; at first she was about to protest, but then she realized she was moving with him—being pulled in the same telekinetic way. They approached the crystal, and Angel watched as Chroney seemed to rub some of the shine away. The bright white luster of the object seemed to almost be caused by some kind of fog—like jack-frost—and Chroney rubbed it away. He peered through the hole he created, and nodded toward her. "Have a look," he said, his body floating aside.

She floated toward it, and laid her palms upon its surface. It was surprisingly cold to the touch, like cold stone. She leaned against the surface and peered into the hole rubbed into the luster. At first she saw nothing, as she looked at the very top of the crystal, but just an inch lower, an eye gazed at hers. Startled, she yipped and flinched backward, treading the fog trying to get away.

"Don't be frightened," Chroney said, "He's not going to hurt you." Angel stopped her useless flailing, and approached the crystal again. She peered inside—the eye peered back and sent a shiver down her spine. She looked more toward the center of the crystal; the black eyes, goldenrod fur, yellow chin, red nose—she recognized his face immediately.

_'625!' _She exclaimed.

"Yes…" Chroney said with a nod. "Allow me to explain," he floated to the side of the crystal, and made another breach in the luster to peer inside. "This is the 625 from the future; as you can see, he is much the same, but his physical condition is…well…you can observe for yourself." Angel saw what he meant; it was as if 625 had gone to the gym all day, every day, for about six years. Amidst the muscles, she saw scars—amidst those, fresh cuts and blood. He looked like a veteran from a war, even his face and ghostlike stare showed a hardened mind and heart.

_'Is he frozen…in time?'_

"You guessed it. In reality, I would not be here if he was truly defeated—I was created to correct the problems of the time-stream. If I am here, then theoretically I can assume that there are still problems that need to fixed; his existence is apparently one of them."

_'So this is why Stitch was so bruised…'_

"Yes…he would have been beaten if I hadn't interfered. But I could not stop 625…in a way. It isn't my job to correct the time-stream; it must do its own correcting." Angel looked over at Chroney.

_'Then that means…625 has to be…destroyed; beaten?'_

"Yes, he must be wiped from the time-stream altogether. He is not meant to exist." Angel turned her body to Chroney, a bit nervously. Her palm slowly let go of the crystal. "Something is on your mind."

_'…Am I meant to exist?' _Chroney closed his eyes, as if picking his words. Something caught Angel's attention behind her; she turned. The image in the fog came clear as Angel floated toward it. She watched with interest, and Chroney followed.

Stitch took his hand out of the purple water. It took on the glow, and washed it clean, but it did nothing for the smell. Phase sat next to him, on a little rock. They had talked, but Stitch expressed no care yet—he expressed nothing. He stared at his hand for six minutes, Phase counted, without blinking. After that, she interrupted.

"_Hey_," she said, "_Are you all right_?" She put a hand on his shoulder; she expected him to flinch, but he didn't. He looked at her, and to her surprise gave somewhat of a smile.

"Stitch…oketaka," He said. In his voice shined the blatant lie.

"_It's strange running into each other like this, don'tchya think_?" She said, trying to sound cheerful and happy. "_We thought you had come to rescue us when we saw that Lilo was in the pod of the burning ship, but—_" at the mention of her name, Stitch turned to the rock. Lilo was inside—sheltered. Zeus emerged and Stitch ran to it, with Phase not far behind him.

"How Lilo?" He asked, skidding to a stop. Zeus stared at him for a moment.

"_I don't think you should go in there,_" She said, "_I stopped the bleeding and sealed her up…but she needs more care. If we don't hurry…things could get worse for her._" Stitch's body drooped.

"Is…in pain?" He asked with a quaver, looking back up at Zeus.

"_She hasn't woken up yet. Let's hope that's not a bad thing._" Zeus looked at Phase, and then back at Stitch. "_I have no idea what you were thinking—what you did was completely irrational, not to mention idiotic._" Phase slowly lifted her hand, Stitch started to droop more. "_Just be thankful we were here to help Lilo when she landed._" Zeus's voice started to get a bit of a snarl to it. "_And she was getting _so _worried about you; every time Phase came back from her search, the hope on her face was—_"

"_Zeus_!" Phase shouted, and the translucent experiment quieted. "_What are you trying to prove_? _Are you jealous because he came here to save Angel instead of to find _you?"

"_Phase, don't talk nonsense. I know what I said earlier, but this has nothing to do with it._"

"_I think you're taking it too far. Stop it—he understands what he did now. Just look at him, he's a wreck; give him something good to hear. Stitch,_" she addressed him; he looked at her with saddened eyes, "_Lilo told us all about Angel while she was here, and we even had a chance to search what you guys were looking for…we found the snot._" Stitch's ears perked up. "_We just needed to find you before we could think of a way…_" She trailed. She wanted to say to get off the planet, but without a ship there was _no _way.

Just then, a strange noise came across the air—a series of beeps. All three fell silent, and looked around. Stitch saw the source first: Lilo's rucksack. He pounced upon it, and opened up the front zipper. Inside, he found the clam-shell communicator. It was catching a signal; he opened it up, and Jumba's face appeared.

"Six-two-six! Finally have made connection…has been nearly full day. Should have found _snot _and come back by now…why are you not here in Jumba's ship?"

"Jumba!" Stitch exclaimed. Zeus snatched the communicator.

"_Jumba,_" she addressed briskly.

"What? Five-nine-nine…what is it _you _are—?"

"_There's no time to talk. Lilo is injured—we found the snot—but the ship they were in crash-landed so there's no way they can get back._"

"…Oh boy…" Jumba said, rubbing his cheek. "Am afraid is not much time left. Am assuming you know about Six-two-four, then?"

"_We know everything. We tried to help but…I'm afraid there's nothing we can do._"

"_Don't say that_!" Phase shouted.

"Six-zero-zero; you are being there too?" Phase took the clamshell.

"_Phase here; we found the snot and we're all together, but we have no way of getting off this planet. I took a look at the ship a while back, and it's pretty destroyed—no way of repair or anything. But…maybe I can transport the _snot _there, do you copy_?"

"…Yes…yes…do you think you can?"

"_…I don't know. I can t—"_

"Lilo!" Stitch exclaimed. Jumba saw his head on the screen. "Jumba, Lilo hurt; need get Lilo back too; Phase send Lilo?" Jumba saw Stitch's head turn, to look at Phase he assumed.

"_Stitch I…I can't do that. That's impossible; I don't even know if I can transport the _snot _that far…I just said that out of a chance…_"

"Is true Six-two-six," Jumba said grimly, "Six-zero-zero can only transport things short distance in normal case. …Am sorry but…" Stitch's ears drooped on the screen. "Hey…no sad face, Six-two-six…Jumba will find a…_way! _Jumba knows a way! Tell Jumba, is there purple flowing waters nearby?" Stitch's left ear lifted up.

"_Yeah,_" Phase confirmed,"_there's water nearby…it's not really too purple, but it looks like it could be if there was—_"

"No time for idleness. Six-zero-zero, you must jump into purple-glowy lidquid."

"_Wha…hat_? _I'm not jumping in that_! _It's all gross-smelling and bubbling…_"

"Trust Jumba, Six-zero-zero. You remember that you are much like hyper-drive engine, no?"

"_No—I mean, yes,_" Stitch started to hand the communicator to her; her face showed up. "_Go on…_"

"Purple-glowy liquid has strong amounts of mercury. If Six-zero-zero can recall, mercury is what powers warp function of hyperdrive, no?"

"_Yes—I mean, no—I mean…_"

"Well, you are like super-hyperdrive; already posses far advanced functionality, able to do what they do a thousand times better, but extremely limited because you must see where you are going. Cannot see earth, so cannot teleport. But; if Six-zero-zero dips antennae into mercury, won't need to see. Six-zero-zero will have more than enough power to teleport _everyone _back to earth, guaranteed."

"Ichibito?" Stitch asked

"I am very sure Six-two-six; after all I am a genius! Now hurry; is not much time…" Stitch heard a beeping on the other end. "You must be acting hastness!" The image of his head disappeared.

"Oketaka…Phase?" Stitch looked over—Phase was already at the water, but she was hesitant.

"_I don't…really wanna do this…_" She gazed into the water. Stitch ran toward her.

"Please Phase?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, and back at the bubbling muck in front of her.

"_I know…I have to. I hated this stuff right from the beginning…_" She got down on her hands and knees, and lifted her head into the air. "_One…two…three…_!" Her head plunged into the murky slime. _"This is nothing...I owe them a lot more." _Rather than a splash, her head made the noise of a smack against mud. Stitch saw bubbles frantically spur as she struggled to get her head out—finally it breached the surface with the popping noise of suction. "Sick!" She yelled, as the slime dripped off her face. "_I think I got some in my mouth_!"

"Work?" Stitch asked. Phase opened her eyes—black against the bright glow of the gook. She stared at him for a moment, and then pointed down. He looked—there was nothing, just ground. "Gaba?"

"That way…earth is that way, I can feel it."

"_Come on then,_" Zeus beckoned. She was near the rock that Lilo was sheltered in. "_We can't move her, so we'll have to teleport from here._" Stitch and Phase ran to the rock—along the way, Stitch swiped up the backpack and stuffed the communicator inside. Zeus and Phase disappeared into the hole inside the rock; Stitch hesitated. He could smell the iron inside.

"_Come on Stitch; I don't know how long this power-boost is going to last._" Phase beckoned. Stitch took in a breath, closed his eyes, and went in. "_Why are you closing your—_" He heard her ask, and then she was silent as she realized the reason. Stitch's hand touched Lilo's leg—it quickly drew back. "_Zeus, take Lilo—Stitch, this is my hand, hold on to it._" He felt her fingers gingerly entwine with his. "_All ready_?"

"_Yes,_"

"Do it."

"_Here's for a miracle…_!" There was a silence—nothing. No noise, no odd feelings. Stitch looked toward the entrance and opened his eyes. He saw a bright crimson glow streaming in. Everything was bathed in the light. Zeus was deep red, as was Phase. His eyes wandered to Lilo's face; her eyes were closed and beads of sweat were on her red-soaked forehead. He panned down her body, and saw a dark black blotch on her side—his eyes shut tight. The color returned to everyone's faces, and finally there was an indication of some kind—a rumble, like an earthquake.

"…Chi taga nim?" Stitch asked. He opened his eyes and looked at Phase.

"_We're here,_" She said, and looked at their hands with a smile. Stitch looked as well—and realized why her fingers were so tightly woven. As she let go, a large, heavy rock fell into his palm. "_Hurry_!" She told him—and with a nod, he ran into the light.


	10. Prisoner in the Crystal

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 10: Prisoner in the Crystal

"Hurry Six-two-six, is not much time!" Jumba met Stitch outside.

"Talai!" Stitch said, tossing the base-ball sized stone in his hand. Jumba caught it. "Lilo come with others," Stitch turned around and looked back; against the twilight sky, he could see Zeus and Phase taking Lilo out of the rock.

"_Is the sun up_?" Zeus asked.

"_No, it's getting darker. There's light out, but no sun; you'll be just fine._"

"_Ok, you take the feet I'll take the head._" She watched as Stitch tossed the rock and looked back at them. "_Thanks for the miracle,_" she told Phase.

"_No problem…and thank you, for taking care of Lilo. I know she annoyed you but—_"

"_You can tell me later. For now, I'll help you with your favor._"

"_Thanks,_" she said, as she passed a plant swaying in the wind.

"Help prepare syringe Six-two-six!" Jumba yelled as he took a hammer and cracked open the rock. Stitch tossed him an ampoule; Jumba took the thick blue jelly from the rock and scooped it into the ampoule. He tossed it back to Stitch, who started to put the chemical into the syringe. "Mix with five cc normal-saline."

"Eh," Stitch confirmed, and grabbed a pouch from a drawer. Jumba looked at the monitors.

"Do not want to be panicking Six-two-six, but Six-two-four reached critical condition hour ago—while you were transporting _snot_; we have, at most," he punched in a few keys on a console, "sixty seconds." The time displayed on a monitor, and started counting down. Stitch flinched and looked at him. "No pausing; prep!" Stitch continued. He punctured the lid of the ampoule, and filled the _snot_; then he moved to the saline. He swirled the mixture to get it even—not even enough to his liking when he was through, but he wasted too much time; thirty seconds left. He drew back his arm to toss the syringe.

"Ta—"

"Oh no! Don't throw!" Stitch checked his hand motion. "Must be very careful…_snot_ is very sensitive when dilute. Walk very slowly to me…that's it…" Stitch took one step at a time, and Jumba told him to go slower yet.

"Gibaja? Running out of time…" he said in a strained voice, as he extended the bottle with a slow arm, watching the clock hit twenty seconds.

"If not, you lose all chance…" Jumba reached for it spreading the fingers of his sweating palm--seventeen seconds, "_got it!_" It started to slip from his fingers, and both of their nerves spiked for a moment. It stopped, and their tension subsided just a bit--eight seconds. Jumba moved slowly, adjusting the syringe is his hand as he spread the fur of Angel's bicep with his other--four seconds. Stitch looked away as he plunged the needle into her skin; he looked again as Jumba pushed the plunger. The timer beeped.

"_We got her!_" Phase shouted, as she came through the hatch of the ship.

"_Where do we put her?_" Stitch closed his eyes just as Lilo's figure came into his vision.

"Bay two, on other side, will follow. Stitch, be watching Angel; alert if flatline."

"Oketaka!"

_'They made it back!' _Angel exclaimed, as she saw the rock and the slab of land Phase took underneath it slam onto the ground.

"But at due cost…" Chroney commented.

_'What do you mean?' _Angel asked, looking toward him. He monitored the image, and another came up below it—very faded, Angel couldn't tell what it was.

"Did you feel that hiccup in your chest?"

_'A moment ago…I felt something. Why; what was it?'_

"You, skipping an hour in a second; I figured you wouldn't want to wait while they just sat there—even with Phase's power it took them quite some time to get to earth. Though relatively it was only a few seconds for them, one for you, an hour for Jumba—"

_'I get it, you keep track of everyone's time. What's there? I can't see it,' _She pointed to the image below the large one.

"That…I can't allow you to see," he looked at it a moment longer. "…I'm sorry, but I must leave you." He announced, and started to float away. The images faded.

_'Wha…hey! Where are you going?'_

"I sense a disturbance in the stream."

_'…Where have I heard that line before?' _He started to fade. _'Come back here! What's going on?'_ He waved goodbye and faded away. Angel looked about her…everything seemed normal. The same wispy smoke that clouded around her in a tube-like manner wasn't swirling, rippling or acting in any unnatural manner. The only thing different was the crystal that held the future 625. Angel floated over to it.

_'You're dying…' _A voice told her. She looked around.

_'Who's there?'_

_'The nanobots are winning…they're not going to get there in time…and he's leaving you…'_

_'Answer me!'_

_'I'm right here…in the crystal.'_ Angel looked toward it; she saw 625 gazing back at her. She rubbed the luster away a bit more. She could see his whole face, gazing back at her. _'Nice to finally see your face so clearly—you look as beautiful as ever.'_ Angel's shoulders quivered at his words. _'It's too bad he's leaving you to die…'_

_'What are you talking about?'_

_'Didn't that idiot tell you? You die. And this is where it happens. Stitch doesn't make it in time—no one does. The nanobots slowly eat at your mind; your heart stops…'_

_'Shut up! That's not happening. I saw Jumba put that stuff in my body already; any minute I'll wake up.'_

_'It takes time for that to work. Time you don't have'_

_'Every second in here is a third of real-time.'_

_'That's not enough; if anything that only evened out the pace; slowed you down to now instead of six hours ago—real time.'_

_'Why are you telling me this?'_

_'Because, I want to save you—my sweet Angel,' _she shuddered. His words were affectionate, which she found revolting. He seemed deceptive, but at the same time…he did experience this before. _'Come on, you can trust me. Frozen here, I've learned a few tricks that Chroney can use—but refuses to. I can speed up the process so you live…how about it? All you have to do is set me free.'_

_'How do I know I can trust you?'_

_'I can see you…you're just as you were before your time came. I tried to save you then, but I was held back…I had what you needed all along. I wanted to save you for the same reason I want to save you again.' _His lidless eyes stared into hers. _'I love you, Angel.' _She flinched.

_'You're sick—even if you could save me, I can't trust that. I only trust in one, and he seems more true than—'_ Angel suddenly lost her ability to speak.

_'You can't talk anymore…they're getting into your motor cortex. Angel, I don't care…even if you hate me, all I want is for you to live…break the crystal. I'll face nonexistence for you…just to give you another chance…' _She felt her heart slowing and a loud beep...

"Jumba! Jumba!"

Her mind started to buzz; she felt her awareness slipping rapidly.

"Clear! …Clear!"

She closed her eyes; felt tickles on her chest and her left hip...

"_No! _Don't do it!" Too late; Chroney's words were too late. Her claws had already slashed through the crystal, and her fist had already made contact. The cracks crawled across the crystal, and bursts of light broke through as it began to shatter. "He tricked you; he has no intention of saving you—you were already saved!"

_'Too late fool…' _Angel felt her body pulse; her vision began to brighten.

"Angel listen to me, _he _was the disturbance I felt—no _you _are; I can't explain…" Angel saw the future 625 floating toward her. "Don't let him take control…try to remember..." Chroney's voice echoed. Angel opened her eyes. Her boochie-boo gazed upon her.

"_All of this…because of me_?" Angel asked, as Phase finished the story.

"_All of it. Jumba said that the nanobots were corroding your mind—there's no long-term damage; you'll be fine in a few hours even._" Angel stared up at the ceiling from her bed.

"_You're all fine, right_? _No one got hurt, I hope._"

"_Well…actually._" Phase blinked and quickly looked at Stitch, who sat next to Angel. Zeus was near the door, as was Phase.

"_Hey,_" Angel started, "_Where…where's Lilo_?" Jumba walked in from the door.

"Am having good news, and am having bad news…"

"Gaba?" Stitch asked assertively; it was the first thing he'd said since Angel woke.

"Good news…little girl stable; bad news…" Jumba walked over to a drawer, and pulled out a blaster; he flipped the safety switch and stepped in front of Zeus and Phase; "Which one of you…hurt little girl?" There was an air of silence in the room, broken by Angel.

"_What the heck is going on_?" She shouted. Stitch stood.

"_It was me._" Zeus said solemnly. "_When…they first arrived, I thought they were after me. So…I retaliated the best way I knew how, and took Lilo hostage. I'm afraid I injured her in the process._"

"_Injured_?" Angel questioned. Phase had left this out of her story. Angel looked to where Stitch was, but he had moved.

"Am sorry, Five-nine-nine," Jumba said, pointing the blaster at the experiment, "But, must be punished." He pulled the trigger rather quickly; Zeus didn't flinch. Everyone blinked as a blur shot forward; Stitch started to growl in pain. He held the blaster pellet in his right hand; it smoked, and a sizzling noise erupted in the air. He winced, and a tear came out of his eye. Finally, after a moment after his act, he dropped the pellet onto the floor, benign. "Six-two-six; what is the meaning of this?"

"Miga…" He said, bawling his hand. "Miga…hurt Lilo." His ears drooped. "Was…accident. Stitch sorry," he held his hands up, "Accept any punishment." Jumba turned the blaster's safety on, and threw it aside.

"We'll…be discussing this later. Until then, you are not to be anywhere near little girl. Five-nine-nine, Six-zero-zero, am needing your help; Little Girl still needs caring to." Zeus and Phase glanced at Stitch, and followed Jumba into bay two. Angel and Stitch were left alone; she stared at him. He held his hand out, and flexed the fingers.

"_Don't, you'll make it hurt worse._" Angel said, getting out of bed.

"Naga, Angel not move," He said, walking over and grabbing her wrist with his wounded hand. He yipped in pain. She took it in her hands by the wrist, and leaned over to kiss his knuckles. She let go and he drew it back.

"_I want to go outside…we're going on a walk, ok_?" She said, pulling the nodes off of her body. She took his good wrist, and led him outside into the cool night.


	11. Restless Moonlight

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Chapter 11: Restless Moonlight

Their walk wasn't far; Angel stopped at the rock from the alien planet. She sat down against it, and beckoned Stitch to sit next to her. Stitch started to catch the lights of fireflies blinking around him. The crickets chirped; the wind with a hint of salt blew and made his ears twitch. He was tired—it felt good to be home. He found himself sitting beside her; she smiled. _Home..._ Angel spoke without a break.

"_I was in a coma, or something like it. I was out for…only a couple days. You and Lilo went to a planet somewhere out there to find the one thing that could save my life. When you got there, your ship blew up and you two were split; Lilo wound up with Zeus and Phase for some time while you…you were alone I guess. The others found the chemical and then you; and the four of you came back here just a little while ago._" She paused. "_Where and when in that story did Phase leave out Lilo getting injured_?"

"Can Stitch…naga say?" Angel looked at him; he was looking straight ahead.

"_…I guess I am asking too soon aren't I_?" She put her hand on his; he flinched. "Soka!" She drew her hand back. He started to growl. "_I'm so sorry,_" she picked his hand up but the wrist,"_does it—_?" he ripped it from her gentle grasp. She looked into his eyes, and down at her palm. "_Is your hand…glowing_?" He didn't respond. She slowly returned to sit back—and then after a moment of silence, started to get up. His hand—the injured one—held her by the wrist. "_Booch_!" She tried to tug free, but he held just tightly enough.

"Angel please stay," he said through the painful expression of his gritted teeth. She stopped struggling and sat back down beside him. "Thanks," he said as he let her go.

"_I want to help…_" She said, placing a hand on his arm. "_Please_?" He shook his head.

"Stitch…just need time," he told her.

"_Promise you'll talk to me…I hate that you're bottling up like this._"

"Stitch promise," he said, without turning his head. She stared at him a moment longer; finally he turned his head to look into her eyes. "Promise, oketaka?" He said softly. She closed her eyes, and sat back; her arm draped over his shoulder, and she pulled him toward her.

"_I'm holding onto you._" He didn't struggle; his unhurt hand reached across and held onto the one at her lap. "_There we go…I like this better._" She started stroking his back tenderly. There they sat for a few moments, before she softly interrupted his grim thoughts; "_Can I tell you about a dream I had_?"

"Ok…" Stitch said, looking at her as he spoke.

"_Come on, lie down._" She pulled his torso toward her, twisting him to lie on his back, and let his head rest in her lap. She looked down at him, and he stared up at her—the moon lit her face against the dark blue night. "_Comfy_?"

"Eh," he said.

"_I dreamt about you,_" She started, "_You were alone and lost; all around you there was darkness, and you came out of a gnarled tree._" Stitch's mind distracted from his prior thoughts and pictured Angel's dream; except he included the ship with the gnarled tree. "_There was a thick fog, and you started coughing. But you felt something urgent which made you forget about all your troubles. You wanted something really bad, and you didn't know where to go to get it._" Lilo's face came to his mind, along with hers. "_You started running through the fog and things started reaching out to you—dark hands, or branches or something like that. They caught you, and you struggled to get free._

"_You twisted and turned, and finally they let go, and you fell into murky water. You swam to the top, and pulled yourself onto the bank, only to be taken up by a huge black shadow—like a giant bird._" Stitch's eyes opened as she continued.

"_You fought and fought and finally the bird let you go, and you fell—a great distance. You landed in a place that was sort of ghostly and intimidating, but you weren't afraid. You wanted something so badly that you ignored everything and started running. As you ran the ghostly light turned yellow and there were lights floating in the air; you ran further and further until you got to a clearing. You felt like what you were searching for was there, but when you arrived, you were met by a patch of withering flowers…_" Stitch sat up abruptly and turned around.

"Angel know?" He said with astonishment. She looked back at him blankly.

"_Know…what_?" Angel lifted his wounded hand as he sat up; he balanced by its wrist.

"Angel know what happen to Stitch when search for Lilo," he said, "_The water, the bird, the lights in the air—most of your dream is true; I was in a swamp surrounded by fog, picked up by a giant bird, and fell into a rainforest with alien fireflies all around, and when it rained it was almost ghostly._" He paused. "Everything…true."

"_Everything's…true_?"

"_Hey! You two; you can come back in now. Lilo's awake,_" Phase's voice broke the conversation.

"_Ok!_" Angel shouted back. "_C'mon booch, we'll talk about your adventure later. I want to see if Lilo's ok._" She grabbed his hand—his unhurt hand—and started to tug him along, but he resisted. She let go after only a couple tugs. She stopped and kneeled down. "_Do you want me to stay with you_?" He shook his head.

"Angel can go, isa oketaka."

"_I'll be right back._" She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek; his eyes opened as she released her lips. A second's stare and she was off. Her dizziness was still a little present; she couldn't really run in a straight line and almost fell over a few times. She clambered into the ship and turned to the right, and calmly walked through the medical door to catch her breath. "Lilo!" Angel exclaimed, rushing to the girl's side.

"Angel…you're awake." Lilo said groggily. Zeus and Jumba were standing on the other side. "Are you…ok?"

"_Me_? _Who cares about me…you're…_" Angel looked over her; there wasn't much but a scratch on her arm, until her eyes moved to her waist. Large gauze pressed against her side, tinted red. The edge of her shirt, which peeked out of the covers that were across her chest, was jagged and torn, and at one spot, dark red. "_…What did he do to you_?" She said in a whisper.

"I'm all right…it doesn't hurt too bad."

"Little girl will be M-okays," Jumba said. "Numbed her up a teensy bit, put biofoam into wound, and cleaned her up." He walked to Angel, and whispered in her ear. "She lost a few…erythrocytes, if you know what am meaning. Will be better in a few days."

"Stitch_…_?" Lilo muttered hazily. "Stitch_…_" Angel held Lilo's wrist—out of recent habit.

"_Stitch isn't here, Lilo,_" she said softly.

"Where is he…I wanna see him…" Her eyes cracked open, and she saw Angel's blurry face looking down at her. "Can you get him for me?"

"_He…can't see you yet._"

"Why not; is he hurt too?"

"_No he…_" Angel looked at Jumba, and then back at Lilo. "_He's not ready to see you yet…_"

"Why not?"

"_Rest Lilo…just get some sleep. You'll see Stitch soon._"

"But I want to see him now…" Angel looked at Jumba again.

"Little girl should rest; Jumba will get Stitch in little bits, is all right Little girl?"

"…Ok…" she agreed after a moment, "promise?"

"_We promise…_" Angel said. Lilo smiled and closed her eyes; she fell asleep. "_What exactly did you have to do_?" She directed the question at Jumba, while still looking at Lilo.

"Put little girl under minor anesthesia…only for tonight. Biofoam will kick in tomorrow, should not be too painful." Angel closed her eyes and paused for a moment, then without warning let go of Lilo's wrist and rushed out the door.

"_Hey, Angel_!" Phase yelled; she and Zeus followed. Stitch was still at the rock where Angel had left him; his eyes were closed. Angel ran up to him, and without stopping slammed his left shoulder into the rock. His eyes opened with a start, and his lips opened, emitting a soft expulsion of air.

"_What did you do_?" Angel hissed. Stitch looked at her, his eyes were open but he looked distracted. "_You said it was an 'accident',_" Angel pressed against his shoulder harder, "_That kind of wound is _no _accident; it's like you flat-out attacked her. Now answer me_!" Phase and Zeus arrived; Phase was out of breath, and only managed to speak the name,

"_Angel—_"

"_Stay out of this._" Stitch looked over to them. "_Keep your eyes on me._" Angel's other hand cupped his chin and forced him to look at her. "_Tell me,_" Stitch looked down at his hand; she slapped it aside by the palm, uncaring of the condition it was in. "_Who cares about your hand; Lilo's hurt. What happened_?" There was a few heartbeats' pause before Phase had enough; she took initiative and grasped Angel's wrists, trying to force her into a submission. Angel glared at her, and without a word hooked her hands around Phases' in tiger-mouths, and pushed down. Phase let out a yelp as pain shot through her arms; her hands were bent up and back; she tried to wriggle free but it only made the burning even worse. She dropped to her knee. Her impulse was _teleport_, but when she tried it was like flexing a dead muscle—her power was still recharging.

"Stop!" Stitch shouted, and Angel felt a ping of rationality; she let go. Phase panted as she was released, a tingling numbness pulsed down her arms with her blood. "Zues…" Stitch spoke. Angel was about to interrupt, but Zues cut her off.

"_Yes, Stitch._" She asked, and though she tried not to she still sounded curt.

"What..._did..._Stitch do?" All of their eyes pulsed in surprise.

"_You mean…you don't know_?" Phase asked.

"Naga," he replied, rubbing his palm, "Stitch only can remember water…and wash hand…" Zeus took a second-long blink.

"_You were at the escape pod of the ship. I was at the edge of our dwelling—at the edge of a ledge overlooking a quarry. I spotted you and was taking Lilo up to meet you. You turned toward me with a vicious look on your face; you attacked. Lilo was too excited to notice your posture…it happened too fast for me to stop it. You gouged her, and both of you tumbled off the edge—you hit the ground first, thankfully, so she was unharmed by it…only knocked out._" Angel sat in the middle of her speech, resting her head in her hands.

"_I want to ask why too…_" She looked up at Stitch, "_But if you don't remember anything you probably don't remember why._"

"Naga," he replied; Angel stood.

"_So what are you going to do about it_?" She asked him. "_All you've done is sit here in silence. You should at least _see _her soon; she wants to see you. You could at least apologize._" Zeus spoke, a little spontaneously.

"_Stitch, can I ask you a question_?" He nodded his head. "_Why did you stop the plasma charge_?" He started to answer. "_No wait—let me rephrase that. Why did you _catch _the charge and hold it until it was benign when you could have just as easily…knocked it out of the way?_"

"Because—"

"_Don't, booch,_" Angel said, holding up her hand, "_She wasn't really asking you, she was answering my question…I'm being such a jerk. Sorry Phase, for hurting you._" Phase smiled with gritted teeth.

"_I'm all right,_" She replied, rubbing her arms. "_I'll just get you back for it later,_" She mumbled; Zeus chuckled under her breath. Angel gripped the wrist of Stitch's injured hand.

"_C'mon booch, it's about time I took care of you,_" She started to walk him toward the house, "_I'll wrap up your hand and—_" Stitch relaxed his hand and gave it a twitch; Angel closed her grip on air.

"Naga," he protested. Angel looked at the other two present.

"_…Let's go check on the kid, Phase_." Zeus suggested. Phase looked blank, then realized why.

"_R-right, see you two later._" They jogged to the ship. Angel closed her eyes.

"_I…_" Angel began, lifting her lids; she took a deeper breath and looked a little downward. "_I have to say I'm—_"

"Isa oketaka—"

"_Let me say I'm sorry_!" Angel snapped, taking a step forward and throwing her fist to the side. She relaxed, "_It's the least you can let me do after what I just did…_" She looked down and to the side, her right hand stroking her left arm. "_I can understand…if you're mad it me. It's ok; I don't blame you._"

"Why Stitch mad?" Angel looked up and started to retort, but he interrupted. "Angel wake up. Not know what going on…want to know. Frustrated."

"_Yeah,_" she said with a sort of inner-growl, "_But see, you're leaving out the parts where I tell you I want to help you—then turn around and slam you against a rock and slap the injured hand when earlier I took such adamant care not to make you use._"

"Forgive. Isa oketaka."

"_Oh shut up._" Angel closed her eyes again and fell against the rock out of frustration. "_Either get mad at me or let me fix your hand—do _something."

"Angel wake up. Angel rest. Do something later."

"_That story's over._" Angel growled. "_I took a nap--so what? I'm awake, I'm not in pain, I'm healthy—I'm fine. There's a little girl that's out cold and you've got a plasma-scorched palm. If anything, _you _two need rest_!" Stitch sat beside her, and put his arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close. She leaned on him, her knees huddled up; she had one hand against his side and the other moved upon his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder; her eyes were beginning to water and her breathing was a little shallow. He stroked her shoulder as she stifled her frustrations. Finally, she calmed down, and her attention fell upon his black palm. He was trying to bawl a fist and spread his fingers out; neither of which he could do very well. "_You can't even move it._" She gripped his chest fur and looked up at him; the moonlight reflected off her tears. "_Can't you put down the cape for once…and let someone care for you_?"

The wind blew—Angel noticed the surroundings all over again, yet she still kept her eyes on Stitch. She watched as he tried to spread his fingers again; it trembled, with a spasm every now and again. She shivered and clung to him with a slight whimper as she saw the bed of his hand crack a bit; blood started to seep out.

"_Stop it…_" She said with empathetic fear.

"Stitch not mean to," he said. "Isa oketaka…when Stitch know Lilo ok…Stitch be helped. Eh?"

"_The minute she's on her feet,_" Angel said, "_I'll be ready with the gauze. Until then,_" She broke free from his comforting hold, and locked him into a comforting hold of her own; their eyes locked for a moment, and then she leaned over his lips. "_I love you._"

"Murjata ju," he said, closing his eyes, "boochie-boo."

The Next Day

"So your name is…Sixtoofah? What kinda name is that?"

"Um, actually it's six, then a two, and uh...then a five; my handwriting is a little sloppy." 625 sat on a cozy chair in front of a desk that he could barely see over. An average teenager with glasses taped in the middle sat on the other side, gazing down at the experiment's application.

"Mr. Sixtoofah," 625's eyebrows flattened.

"Yes?" He asked, ignoring the mishap.

"I'm concerned about your yellow appearance—do you have jaundice?"

"The heck is that, some kinda breakfast cereal?" The teenager pushed his glasses closer against his head. "All right kid, look," he pulled at his chest, "This is one-hundred percent genuine genetically-altered experimental fur right here. Worth a fortune in some galaxies—but don't get any ideas."

"Hmm…very well, if you say so. Your application is very good and all," he said as he crumpled it and threw it away, "But really we're not looking for someone without 'sandwich-making experience'." 625 cleared his throat.

"Now…hold on a second here. You mean to say that you would deny _me_: the maker of all things wonderful that you can fit inside of two slices of bread, a job that is perfectly suited for my exact—well preferred—primary function?" The boy stared. "Do ya?"

"Yes." He leaned on one elbow. "Unless you can make a sandwich that pleases me."

"Point me to the kitchen." The boy went to the door and pointed to the left. "Be right back Pimpleton." He said, waddling like a teddy-bear out the door and down the hall.

"So did you get the job?" Gantu asked eagerly; he was sitting at the table, eating a deli—the only person in the restaurant.

"Pretty much; manager just lost a little faith in the Ruler of Rye;" he put on an apron, "the Master of Mayo;" he donned a toque, "the King of Cottage cheese!" He shouted, picking up a spatula and holding it above his head like a sword.

"'king' and 'cottage' don't begin with the same letter," Gantu pointed out as he casually took a bite. The toque fell over 625's eyes; he lowered the spatula.

"Can it, Slave of Salami," he commanded, pulling the toque into place. "Now let's see…" He went to the garbage can and started work; he pulled out his ingredients and in about five minutes, went back the way he came with a sandwich atop of a silver platter resting on his palm.

"Good luck," Gantu shouted.

"Luck is for amateurs!" He replied. He arrived back in the office and stopped at the threshold. "Ahem, _monsieur_," the boy looked up from writing at his desk and pushed his glasses against his face. "_Tiens_." He said, and presented his sandwich. The boy picked it up, looked it over.

"Looks ok…" He bit into it, chewed it; swallowed. There was a pause as 625 waited arrogantly. "This…is…_incredible_!" 625 smiled and idly twirled the spatula between his fingers. "No one here has made anything like this—not _any _of my five workers! Why, with stuff like this, we might actually _get _customers! What did you put in this?"

"Moldy bread…week-old goat-cheese, anchovies, turned sour-cream and tofu meat." He mumbled.

"You're hired, Sixtoofah!" The spatula clattered to the floor. "Can you start tomorrow?" 625's face relaxed a bit, as he remembered the infomercial's advice on job interviews.

"If the pay is good and I wake up."

"I'll start you off with a bonus! This'll be great!"

"Yeah, wonderful; see ya," 625 took off his toque and apron and left it behind. He walked out into the diner, the manager still vocally gawking at the taste of the sandwich.

"He seems to be impressed," Gantu said as he finished his meal. "This wasn't too good, though. You can do better."

"Yeah; but I have a feeling he won't be better tomorrow. In fact, he'll probably feel that sandwich in about fifteen minutes…we'd better get outta here."

"Hey," Gantu said, as they walked out the door, "You think you can get me a discount—or like, free meals?"

"Sure!" He replied with sarcasm, "Just as soon as I own the place and change its name. Who'd want to eat at…" he turned around, "'ThisWay; Just Eat It'."

"It has potential…"

"Right. I think I'm gonna _not _eat it and go _that _way." He pointed back home.

**Atichura**

**(The End)**


	12. Status Report

A Puzzle of Missing Pieces

(Sequel to The Chronicles of the Elusive Angel)

Piece 1: Sleep

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: Tsuki Akurei

Status Report

Star date: 8382-127  
Coordinate Correction: 8289-418  
Coordinate Origin: _Classified  
_Name: _Classified  
_Coordinate Receiver: _Classified  
_Name: Turo

Representative(s)

Name: Jumba Jookiba  
Title: Inmate (Parole)

Name: Pleakley  
Title: Research Specialist

Recipient(s)

Name: _Classified  
_Title: _Classified_

Message: Status Report  
Originator: Jumba Jookiba  
Priority Code: Gamma  
ID: #311-1492-7

Title: Jumba's Log #104

Content:

_Experiment Update: Sighted: 1 (6-0-0)  
__Captured: 1 (6-0-0)  
__Status: 6-0-0: Rehabilitating_

_Log:_

_Since last report, two missions have been undergoingness: first, 6-0-0 capture 6-2-4 and transport to planet Agubada. From what Jumba is understanding was Hämsterviel's bases of operationing. Throughout investigationness have understood purpose of kidnapping to be in order to create (mass-productivelyness) superweapon for hunting (and possibility elimination of—as namings suggests) experiments, named _Achie-baba Kino_. Is very primal form of evil-genius experiments, with only rawness of ingredients and makeup, relying largely on biomechanics rather than simulation-bionics. Schematics of _Kino _robotics and cybernetics attached (attch. #1). 6-2-6 and Lilo exfiltrate Agubada on rescue mission, unaware of Project-AC (mentioned later). _

_According to 6-0-0, 6-2-6 and Lilo successfullyness in disarming of all functioning _Kino_, of which there were 10. However, by chance 5-9-9 arrive and beginnings assaulting bases of operationing. During assault, 6-0-0 help 6-2-4, 6-2-6, and Lilo escape from Agubada (6-0-0, although allyness with Hämsterviel, switches siding). During escape, 6-0-0 manage to deliver all documentation on Project-AC._

_Following events of Agubada, due to nanotechnology explained in laterness, 6-2-4 was put into critical hypersomnitosis. Recovery of _saphaxnyltholigothrymine _was in necessity for recovery of 6-2-4's condition. To obtaining substantial sampleness, Jumba sented 6-2-6 and Lilo to Excav-13. Copy of legality documentationing Jumba sented prior to report is also attached (attch. #2). Unexpected rendezvous with 5-9-9 and 6-0-0 allowed for return. 6-2-4 has made fully recover._

_Due to 6-0-0's contributioning, all evidences of Hämsterviel's activity is now revealed. All files in disc encrypted in Alpha will be attached (attch. #3). In brief: Project Augmentation Cyborg (Project-AC) was designing by Hämsterviel to create and maintenance army of experiments with standard augmentedness capability. It is in confirmation that Hämsterviel has tested multiplication colonies of nanobots, showing drastic improvedness in each creation. Nanobots are being key to Project, however on side Hämsterviel create _Achie-baba Kino _in order to testing and refinement of nanbotic colonies. _

_It is also in confirmation that 6-2-4's siren song is key ingredient; nanobots are running on neurotransmitters and chemicals that stimulating adrenaline and anti-histamine, reducing pain and increasingness of strength, attributes which can be easilier obtained if one can be in the influencialness of evil. It is in confirmation of 5-9-9, 6-0-0, 6-2-4, and 6-2-5 of having nanobots of varying stages of developing. 6-2-5 having most recent—appearingness that 6-2-5 is unawaredness. 6-2-4 no longer having nanobots, will scan 6-2-6 and Lilo as per standard Protection Policy regulation. Am requesting for more _saphaxnyltholigothrymine, _as other experiments in dangerness of hypersomnitosis. Must have at least 350 mg supplied; Hämsterviel may planning to continue project. _

_Am also requesting extended benefits. Maybe…can have privilege to requesting technological equipment? Pleakley can confirmation that Jumba has not misconductedness actions. Lambda priority, however…Jumba still make-doing with what having, if necessary. But, research and rehabilitation may going lot easierness if Jumba having material aide…_

_Be considering._

_Signed: Jumba Jookiba  
__ID: _classified

_Log End_

Attachment(s):

Attch. #1: Schematics of Achie-baba Kino

Attch. #2: Jurisdiction Access Request Form (With approval)

Attch. #3: _Classified_

[Log Close


End file.
